With the deepening of the energy crisis in the wake of the news from Gazprom that the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will remain closed until the West lifted sanctions by order of Vladimar Putin energy prices continue to spike higher. Europe’s benchmark coal price rose 7.6% to a record $345/ton, about three times the price of a year ago. Year-ahead futures for delivery to the Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Antwerp region rose after Europe revived dormant coal power plants to save … Continue reading “European Coal Prices Hit Record High”
France Preparing for Hard Winter as Energy Crisis Escalates
France has responded to soaring power prices as the energy crisis deepens. France has been hit by a combination of shutting down nuclear power sources at the same time as Russia restricts natural gas supplies. The French finance minister Bruno Le Maire in a speech said France needs to prepare for a hard winter with less gas available and in need to think about rationing of gas to industry. The tone is very much in the panicky and threatening tone … Continue reading “France Preparing for Hard Winter as Energy Crisis Escalates”
Estonia has Filled Around Half of 1 TWh gas Storage Target for Winter
The government of Estonia announced it paid €63mn ($63.8mn) in its third tender for national gas storage this year to purchase 250GWh for its strategic reserve. This brings Estonia storage to near 50% of its 1 TWh gas procurement target with bought 200 GWh across two earlier tender rounds. The government disperses state funds through national agency Estonian Stockpiling Agency. The Estonian government has allocated €170mn of supplementary budget funds for the national strategic reserve this year. The reserve provides the … Continue reading “Estonia has Filled Around Half of 1 TWh gas Storage Target for Winter”
China Overtakes Europe as World’s Biggest LNG Importer
Chinese LNG imports in July dropped 15.4% year/year to 4.74mn metric tons, customs department data published on August 18 showed. For perspective of the significance China imported 109.5 billion cubic meters of LNG last year, 1.3 billion more than Europe. Asia has accounted for 70% of global LNG trade for the past decade, during which time China’s shares of both global LNG trade and of Asia LNG trade have more than tripled. The cumulative LNG imports in the first seven months … Continue reading “China Overtakes Europe as World’s Biggest LNG Importer”