In order to control the specifics of supplies, the European Commission initially tried to obtain a mandate from EU countries for negotiations with Russia on the conditions for building the gas pipeline – but without success. According to EU legislation, these decisions remain with member countries and Brussels only has a consultative voice in this […]
Earlier this year the US energy major Exxon Mobil officially announced its intention to sell its 50% share in the Neptun Deep offshore project located on the Romanian Black Sea shelf. Although rumours of a sale had circulated since November 2019, no serious buyer has yet come forward. And here is why. Export issue still […]
Spot prices for gas in Europe reached a historical high on 21 December 2021, exceeding $2,000 per thousand cubic metres of gas for the first time. By the end of January 2022, the price of gas had experienced a double downward correction. The situation in the European gas market remains complex however. According to Emily […]
There are no miracles: survival is for the fittest. Nowhere is this truer than in the global energy market. Toshiba has finally published its third quarter results for 2016, revealing record losses in the history of the Japanese giant of 552.4 billion yen ($4.97 billion dollars at the current exchange rate), or 15 percent up […]
Since Ukraine stopped buying Russian natural gas in November 2015, it has been importing the fuel under sales contracts with suppliers in Germany, Austria, and Luxemburg. With Moscow and Kiev entrenched in a bitter drawn-out conflict, relations between Ukraine’s Naftogaz and Russia’s Gazprom have degenerated into a state of permanent litigation. The global energy community […]
According to its letter of March 28 to the governments of Denmark and Sweden, the European Commission will not block the construction of Nord Stream 2 (NS2). The Commission’s spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen has stated that Nord Stream 2 (NS2) is not subject to the rules of the EU Third Energy Package. Nevertheless, the European Commission […]
When oil prices collapsed in 2014, many experts predicted bleak scenarios for renewable energy: cheap oil would make pushing on with expensive and less efficient wind farms and solar cells economically questionable. Other fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal, which were also becoming cheaper, would compete more strongly against renewables, it was thought. […]
The subject of conventional hydrocarbons, with a focus on crude oil prices, has been generating wild theories both in the expert community and the media. Although some of the speculation has been orchestrated, the main reason for this chaotic forecasting is that it is no longer possible to rely on the traditional system of trend […]
One of the most ambitious European energy projects, the $45 billion Southern Gas Corridor may be about to breathe its last, in spite of the ongoing effort to revive it. It has been beset by a disease that has been developing as quickly as a particularly pernicious tumor. While in spring, there was still hope […]
There was a time when everybody laughed at Nicola Tesla with his electrical motor because nobody could believe in energy without oil. But even back then, the great inventor knew that hydrocarbons would not be around forever. In 50 years’ time, the world may have used up its last drops of oil. This is a […]
The Arctic shelf: cold but not that cold Recent turmoil in international oil and gas markets combined with increasing environmental concerns has helped calm a fever over hydrocarbon development in the Arctic region. Nonetheless, these territories with fragile ecosystems and abundant natural resources attract major players. According to the US Geological Survey, the Artic shelf […]
Russian Gazprom to complete a successful import substitution Two years after the West imposed sanctions, they remain a controversial matter for the Russian economy. While some experts point out the threats of technological isolation, others claim import restrictions are a blessing for domestic industrial production. The oil and gas industry was hit the hardest. The […]
The “ready” button has been pushed on the German island of Rugen. The pipes for laying down the North Stream 2 gas pipeline have been unloaded on the coast, the contract has been signed with Wasco Coatings Europe BV for their ballast coating, storage and logistics, and the first phase of construction is even underway.
