German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWI) Sigmar Gabriel recently touted another step towards enhancing EU energy security via regional cooperation. The Minister and 11 of his colleagues from neighboring European countries signed a political declaration meant to ensure the reliable and secure supply of electricity among those countries. Dubbed “12 electrical neighbors”… Keep reading →
The next winter is approaching fast in natural gas terms. While temperatures are slowly rising in the Northern Hemisphere and the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC hit peak bloom over the weekend, across the pond the EU Commission kicked off a fresh series of trilateral gas talks between Russia, the Ukraine… Keep reading →
In the final EU Energy Union document “A Framework Strategy for a Resilient Energy Union with a Forward-Looking Climate Change Policy”, the European Commission recognized the importance of improving overall energy efficiency – “Member States [should] give energy efficiency primary consideration in their policies.” Miguel Arias Cañete, the EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy,… Keep reading →
Last week, the European Commission held its first orientation debate on the Energy Union in the college of the Commission. “It was the first time that all commissioners together had an in-depth discussion on the issue. And I can tell you that there was very broad agreement on the main features of the future Energy… Keep reading →
Ahead of the new European Commission’s highly anticipated publication of “proposals on a more closely-linked single energy market” in the first quarter of 2015 as part of a drive to loosen Europe’s energy dependence on Russia, leaked non-papers drawn up by governments of EU member states on the topic are being circulated in Brussels, according… Keep reading →
Back in October 2014, EU leaders agreed on the 2030 framework for climate and energy policies – aimed at making both the EU economy and its energy system more sustainable, secure and competitive – with a ‘domestic’ 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of at least 40 per cent compared to 1990 levels. Here, the… Keep reading →
The EU Commission yesterday released the first “Energy Security Stress Tests” in the wake of the Ukraine crisis. On its behalf, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for gas (ENTSOG) modeled two disruption scenarios for a period of one or six months: Complete halt of Russian gas imports to the EU Disruption of Russian… Keep reading →
A mixture of supply/demand fundamentals and economic indicators are pushing down prices for global benchmark crude grade Brent. The EIA concisely describes current global crude oil market dynamics in its Today in Energy brief. [EIA] Oil market observers are buzzing with theories seeking to explain why Saudi Arabia cut official selling prices for its crude… Keep reading →
Europe’s biggest economy marches towards a greener future. Aug 18 was a Sunday like any other in Germany. At 2 pm, the country’s renewable generation capacity peaked at 41 GW while demand was around 53.5 GW – meaning that renewables accounted for roughly 75% of generation capacity, a new record for Europe’s biggest economy. At… Keep reading →
The EU further ratcheted up sanctions against Russia’s oil sector targeting Gazpromneft, Transneft and Rosneft with measures that will prevent the firms from raising capital in EU member states. The economic restrictions again fall short of squeezing Russia’s natural gas industry upon which many European companies closely rely. [Wall Street Journal] European Energy Commissioner Günther… Keep reading →
