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 →
The North American Gas Forum was held in Washington D.C. Sept 28-29. The event brought together leaders from across the natural gas supply chain to discuss the latest developments and important issues in the industry today. Keynote speakers were Adam Sieminski, Administrator of the U.S. Energy Information Administration discussing the impressive growth in gas and… Keep reading →
Some of the world’s largest LNG purchasers by volume are beginning to cooperate in an effort to increase bargaining power and secure lower prices. “Korea Gas and Tokyo Gas plan to deepen a partnership they started in 1990 on exchanging information and technology to possibly include joint investments in gas developments, along with purchases of… Keep reading →
When temperatures plummeted across the Northeast last winter, spot natural gas prices along the Eastern Seaboard spiked to eye-popping levels causing many to call for additional pipeline capacity. However, as is often the case with energy issues, the situation is more complex than it may first appear and constructing expensive long-term pipeline capacity may not… 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 →
The companies developing the Leviathan field off the coast of Israel have reportedly signed an initial agreement with a Jordanian power company for a multi-billion dollar, long-term natural gas supply deal. “Under the terms of the latest agreement, the gas is to be sold at oil-linked prices and will be delivered to a border location… Keep reading →
The German government is providing the country’s largest utility E.ON loans to help competitively bid for global LNG supply as Berlin seeks to diversify gas import sources away from Russia. The loans strengthen E.ON’s credit rating and help the company compete with government-backed companies that LNG suppliers favor. “Those guarantees have in the past been… Keep reading →
Last week, the US and the EU hit Russia with a new sanctions regime in order to punish its continued meddling in destabilizing Eastern Ukraine. The economic restrictions are dubbed ‘Stage Three’ sanctions, indicating the increased level of severity meant to further ratchet up costs to the Russian economy. The sanctions now target Russian banking,… Keep reading →
Morgan Stanley analysts floated the idea that Russia’s President Putin could order state-controlled natural gas export monopoly Gazprom to cut supplies to European firms in retaliation for western-imposed economic sanctions. It appears the incremental damage such a move would cause to Russia’s economy makes using the “gas weapon” unlikely, but the Putin regime is not… Keep reading →
Gas-to-liquids plants that is. Facilities that convert natural gas into liquid transportation fuels like diesel and gasoline have become potentially attractive given current ample US natural gas supply and the fuel’s comparatively low price compared with other regional markets around the world. This attractively-priced feedstock has already spurred a spate of chemical plant expansions and… Keep reading →
