Ukraine-Russia Crisis

Recent cuts in global LNG supply and further geopolitical tensions are colliding, causing a growing list of European and Asian countries to react with energy conservation plans and economic warnings. Rice University’s Anna Mikulska, a nonresident fellow in energy studies at the Baker Institute for Public Policy, said the growing chaos in energy markets could…

European natural gas prices seesawed again Tuesday, jumping on news that leaks at a Norwegian gas field would cut more than 2 Bcf/d of supplies for the continent until they’re fixed. The issues are expected to be resolved quickly, but European gas markets are on edge after Russia’s Nord Stream 1 pipeline was taken offline…

Shell plc is shuttering the 3.6 million metric tons/year Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) export facility offshore Western Australia, as union workers overwhelmingly rejected the London-based major’s latest offer to improve pay and working conditions.  The Offshore Alliance union told Shell that workers planned to ban mooring tankers alongside the FLNG facility, preventing the…

Germany’s Uniper SE, the country’s largest utility and biggest importer of Russian natural gas, has asked for a government bailout after Gazprom PJSC reduced supplies from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline last month by 60%.   Uniper filed a formal application under Germany’s Energy Security Act (EnSiG) asking the government to take a stake in the…

European natural gas prices hit their highest point in months on Tuesday, extending a series of gains as the continent continues to face the threat of supply shortages on a number of fronts. A prolonged shutdown of the Freeport liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in the United States, reduced flows from Russia on the…

Russia is moving to further tighten its grip on the nation’s oil and natural gas supplies, issuing a decree for the country to take over the Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project on Sakhalin Island north of Japan.  An executive order signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin to “protect the national interests” calls for…

The oil-rich consortium of countries known as OPEC-plus on Thursday affirmed its intentions, first signaled earlier in June, to ramp up production in July and August. It is targeting output growth of 648,000 b/d both months.  If the cartel could meet its goals, the group’s average crude generation would climb to nearly 44 million b/d…

After slightly cooling on an apparent price correction, European energy markets started the week with another leap upward as the European Union (EU) formalized its winter natural gas storage plan. The EU countries officially ratified a plan Monday to reach 80% of natural gas storage capacity available among the 27-country bloc by the winter heating…

Russian pipe gas flows to Europe fell again and will likely remain heavily curtailed over the coming weeks. This was a key driver behind price rises at the ICIS TTF which in turn lifted the ICIS East Asia Index (EAX) back to prices last seen in March.