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☆ Here’s how the Israel-Iran conflict affects the oil market
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Oil prices spiked Friday to levels not seen since October in anticipation of just such an escalation but on Monday were subdued. “It is the most significant chokepoint in the global oil market,” Richard Bronze, co-founder and analyst at data firm Energy Aspects, told CNN. A renewed crackdown would, however, “create upward pressure on global prices” at an inopportune moment, Tagliapietra said. A tight oil marketDespite Iran’s barrage of drones and missiles, the conflict had a relatively muted impact on the global oil market Monday. Oil prices have already risen sharply since hitting a low in early February.

Persons: London CNN —, Brent, Israel —, Simone Tagliapietra, ” Richard Bronze, Tagliapietra, Joe Biden’s, WTI, Russia — Organizations: London CNN, West Texas Intermediate, CNN, International Energy Agency, Hamas, Organization of, Petroleum, United Arab Emirates, Traders Locations: Israel, Iran, Syria, Paris, Gaza, Tehran, Hormuz ‘, Hormuz, Brussels, China, Strait, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United States, Ukraine, Washington, Damascus, OPEC, Russia, Brazil, Guyana, Canada

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Missiles and drones are flying in the Red Sea, disrupting one of the world's key trade arteries and a chokepoint for energy shipments headed for Europe. Last year, 12.9% of Europe's LNG went through the Red Sea from suppliers in the Middle East, mainly Qatar. That means “an extended shut-in of the Red Sea route from the Middle East poses a supply risk to Europe,” said Kaushal Ramesh, vice president at Rystad Energy. So far, there's been little to no impact on natural gas prices. Europe is getting a break because demand for natural gas is weak amid a sluggish economy.

Persons: Yemen's Houthi, it's, ”, Kaushal Ramesh, there's, ” Rystad's Ramesh, Simone Tagliapietra, Tagliapietra, Biden, Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden, Jennifer Granholm, Eurogas, Tagliapeitra, Claudia Kemfert, ___ Daly Organizations: Missiles, Union, SEA, Italy's, Europe's, Rystad Energy, WHAT'S, Energy, Industry, German Institute of Economic Research, Leuphana University Locations: FRANKFURT, Germany, Red, Europe, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Mandab, Israel, U.S, Yemen, Africa, Suez, Qatar, China, Norway, Azerbaijan, Brussels, Iran, Hormuz, Persian, That's, ”, Asia, ” U.S, USA, EU, Washington

☆ Europe’s gas prices are a worry ahead of winter despite brimming stores
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But while gas shortages are unlikely in Europe this winter, the price of the fuel remains a worry. According to S&P Global, about one-fifth of global LNG supply travels through the channel on Iran’s south coast. In a less jittery market, neither incident may have had the effect it did, helping boost European gas prices by more than 40% over the course of a single week. High gas prices have presented a persistent economic headwind for Europe's biggest economy due to its reliance on energy-intensive industries. Together, these milestones should push European gas prices down to €30 ($32) per megawatt hour by the end of next year, Weatherburn added.

Persons: Asia —, Soeren, ”, Jack Sharples, Heikki Saukkomaa, Simone Tagliapietra, Bill Weatherburn, Stefan Sauer, Weatherburn, “ Organizations: London CNN, European Union, International Energy Agency, EU, Getty, “, Oxford Institute of Energy Studies, CNN, Hamas, P, Chevron, Egyptian, Steam, ”, Capital Economics, Qatar, Energy Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Europe, North America, Asia, Norway, Hungary, Austria, Azerbaijan, Algeria, Germany, Israel, Gaza, Hormuz, Jordan, Egypt, Cairo, Estonia, Australia, AFP, “, ” Europe, France, Italy, Lubmin, Pomerania, United States, Qatar

☆ Green Steel Is Coming. Europe Is Leading the Charge Thanks to New Carbon Taxes.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

The need for conversion to low-carbon steel production is greater in Europe, where 57% of steel is produced in coal-fired blast furnaces. Swedish-based startup H2 Green Steel has signed deals to supply low-carbon steel to IKEA, Mercedes-Benz , BMW and Scania. Customers of H2 Green Steel have been willing to support the project based on their own green targets and their end-customers’ willingness to pay a green premium, he said. H2 Green Steel said it would charge a €150 premium, while Swedish steelmaker SSAB expects to charge double that. Research from the Rocky Mountain Institute suggests the IRA will encourage green steel investments that would, by 2030, produce about eight million tons of low-carbon steel, or nearly 10% of U.S. steel demand.

Persons: fabian strauch, ”, Colin Richardson, incentivizing, CBAM, Nicola Davidson, Davidson, Henrik Henriksson, Mikael Sjoberg, ” Henriksson, Gunnar Güthenke, SSAB, Europe ”, Simone Tagliapietra, Paul Lim, ” Lim, Yusuf Khan Organizations: Leadership Group, Industry, Argus Media, Rocky Mountain Institute, U.S ., Business, International Energy Agency, Investments, Steel, IKEA, Mercedes, Benz, BMW, Scania, H2, Bloomberg, Research, Europe, Bruegel, U.S Locations: Europe, U.S, Brussels, London, European, Lakes , Texas, Pacific, China, Asia

☆ A pipeline in the Baltic Sea has been shut down. Authorities suspect sabotage
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Gasgrid, Finland’s gas transmission operator, said Sunday that it had temporarily shut the 95-mile-long Balticconnector pipeline, running under the Baltic Sea, over a suspected leak. Moreover, Finland can still source gas via its LNG terminal, and Estonia is still connected to the European gas grid via Lithuania. An ‘alarm bell’Gasgrid and its Estonian counterpart Elering “noticed an unusual drop in pressure in the Balticconnector offshore gas pipeline” on Sunday morning, Gasgrid said Tuesday. “It is reasonable to suspect that the cause of the incident was damage to the offshore gas pipeline,” the company said in a statement. “The European [gas] market remains very tight, and any news is having an impact,” said Sharples at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.

Persons: Gasgrid, Sauli Niinistö, Jens Stoltenberg, ” Stoltenberg, Jack Sharples, Elering “, Kaja Kallas, Simone Tagliapietra, ”, Sharples, — James Frater, Sharon Braithwaite Organizations: London CNN, NATO, Finnish Border Guard, European Union, CNN, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, Estonian, Estonia’s, Authorities, Germany —, EU, Chevron Locations: Finland, Estonia, Baltic, Brussels, Lithuania, Latvia, Europe, United Kingdom, Germany, Nord, Norway, Algeria, Israel

The Tamar field, located 15 miles off Israel’s southern coast, meets 70% of Israel’s energy needs for power generation, according to the US energy company. A prolonged shutdown could lead to a drop in Israeli gas exports to its neighbors, Egypt and Jordan, as well as squeeze an already tight global gas market. For now, Chevron (CVX) continues to supply its customers in Israel and the region with gas from the larger Leviathan platform. Goldman Sachs analysts think the Tamar shutdown has “contributed” to the rally in European gas prices. However, all in all, the consequences for the global gas market would be “very limited,” he added, because Israel isn’t a major supplier.

Persons: Sally Jones, ” Jones, Chevron, “, Tamar, —, Wood Mackenzie, Goldman Sachs, Simone Tagliapietra, Marc Israel Sellem, Chevron’s Wheatstone, Tagliapietra, Israel, ”, Israel isn’t, Jordan, Israel’s, Martijn Murphy, Luo, ” Murphy Organizations: New York CNN, Chevron, Israel’s Ministry of Energy, Hamas, CNN, Rystad Energy, International Energy Agency Locations: London, New York, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Europe, Ukraine, Baltic, Australia, Finland, Estonia, Tamar

☆ Oil price spikes on Israel war. Here’s what a wider conflict might mean
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London CNN —Global oil prices climbed 4% Monday over fears that the unprecedented weekend attack on Israel by Hamas could escalate into a regional conflict embroiling oil-producing nations. The [attack] itself has no effect on the oil market directly,” Homayoun Falakshahi, a senior oil analyst at data provider Kpler, told CNN. Tighter oil sanctions? Should Washington decide to tighten the sanctions screw once more, “current flows to the global oil market might be compromised,” he added. “That would be a complete game-changer for the oil market,” Falakshahi said.

Persons: Brent, Israel, ” Homayoun, ”, Jon, “, Benjamin Netanyahu, Oded, Donald Trump, Barack Obama, Simone Tagliapietra, Bruegel, —, Tehran —, ” Falakshahi, “ it’s, Tobias Borck, Borck, Artemis Moshtaghian Organizations: London CNN —, Global, CNN, National, United Nations, Hamas, Washington, United Arab, Royal United Services Institute for Defence, Security Locations: Israel, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, Washington, United States, Palestine, Gaza, Tel Aviv, Brussels, Ukraine, Hong Kong, China, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Gulf, Hormuz, Lebanese, Tehran, Shebaa Farms, Lebanon, “

"The UK has been one of the real leaders in climate diplomacy and in their own emissions reductions," Ireland’s climate minister Eamon Ryan told Reuters. But according to the Climate Change Committee’s June 2023 progress report to parliament, to hit mid-way climate targets, Britain must quadruple its annual emissions reductions outside the electricity supply sector by 2030. He said he was changing the policy because previous governments had moved too quickly to set net zero targets, without securing the support of the public. Delaying net zero transition investments could prove politically popular, analysts observed, if an election was on the horizon. But "this framing only works if you think climate policy is a burden", said Bob Ward, a climate policy researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science, adding that avoiding short-term costs was likely to lead to a greater bill for taxpayers down the road.

Persons: Eamon Ryan, Rishi Sunak, Bob Ward, Britain's, Simone Tagliapietra, Sunak’s, Philip Dunne, Susanna Twidale, Gloria Dickie, Kate Abnett, Elizabeth Piper, Ed Osmond, Alison Williams Organizations: Reuters, United Nations, London School of Economics, Political, Global, Thomson Locations: Britain, Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, Netherlands, Brussels, U.S, London

☆ EU to investigate 'flood' of Chinese electric cars, weighing tariffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"Global markets are now flooded with cheaper electric cars. It is also unusual in that it is brought by the European Commission itself, rather than in response to an industry complaint. GRINDING GEARSThe influx of cheaper Chinese electric vehicles has already prompted some European carmakers to take action. At the same time Von der Leyen stressed the importance of electric vehicles to the EU's ambitious environmental objectives. The founder of Nio warned in April that Chinese EV makers should brace for the possibility that foreign governments would impose protectionist policies.

Persons: Ursula von der Leyen, BYD, EVs, Nio, Mercedes Benz, Stellantis, France's, Tesla, VDA, Von der Leyen, Simone Tagliapietra, Kingsmill Bond, Foo Yun Chee, Philip Blenkinsop, Kim Miyoung, Brenda Goh, Anne Marie Roantree, Nick Carey, Kate Abnett, Gabriela Baczynska, Louise Heavens Organizations: EU, Investigation, European EV, European Commission, European Union, Renault, BMW, HK, China Passenger Car Association, Dynamics, Volvo, EV, VW, France's Renault, Japan, Rocky Mountain Institute, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Brussels, China, Moscow, Ukraine, Germany, France, Europe, U.S

Poland's government, which faces October elections, is even suing Brussels over climate policies. Britain has already quickly gone from being a leader on the world stage to looking quite weak on green policies, he said. CITIZENS, BUSINESSESEurope's green policies are still more credible than U.S. ones, given see-sawing between electoral cycles in the United States, some analysts said. Rows over green policies have propelled right-wing populist parties to second place in both Dutch and German polls. "Otherwise citizens might start to feel that climate policy is always financially overwhelming and bad, and that sentiment is then exploited by populists."

Persons: Timm Reichert, Virginijus Sinkevicius, Sinkevicius, Anna Moskwa, Nathalie Tocci, Mats Engström, GREEN, Bob Ward, Ward, Rishi Sunak, Rob Jetten, Nina Scheer, Simone Tagliapietra, Tagliapietra, Kate Abnett, Sarah Marsh, Gloria Dickie, Anthony Deutsch, Angelo Amante, Pawel, Susanna Twidale, William James, Alexnder Smith Organizations: REUTERS, European Union, Reuters, European People's Party, European Council, Foreign, United States, Grantham Research, London School of Economics, Political, Climate, Energy, Democrats, Thomson Locations: Gruenberg, Germany, EU, BERLIN, BRUSSELS, Netherlands, Brussels, Europe, United States, Grantham, India, China, Britain, Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Rome, Warsaw

During Greece's peak power demand this year, also on July 24, solar photovoltaics covered 3.5GW of the total 10.35GW demand, grid operator IPTO said. Even in cooler and less sunny western countries such as Belgium, solar energy has covered more than 100% of the extra energy needed during midday spikes in power demand. Analysts say a second factor has helped to keep Europe's energy systems running this summer: overall, power demand has been relatively low. That has been the case since Europe's energy crisis last year, when Russia cut gas deliveries to Europe. "The only reason why this has been bearable is the low power demand environment that we're currently in," Refinitiv's Gerl said.

Persons: Nicolas Economou, Kristian Ruby, Electrica, Nathalie Gerl, IPTO, Spain's, Refinitiv's Gerl, Simone Tagliapietra, Kate Abnett, Susanna Twidale, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Analysts, Energy, European Commission, SolarPower, Thomson Locations: Rhodes, Greece, Europe, BRUSSELS, LONDON, Spain, Ukraine, Catania, Etna, Sicily, Athens, Belgium, Russia

☆ A subsidy arms race is kicking off between Europe and America
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

This premium is expected to shrink as clean energy technologies become more advanced and infrastructure to produce them is scaled up. Most of the money the IRA has earmarked for clean energy initiatives comes in the form of tax credits. In the meantime, government officials are lobbying the United States to rethink parts of the IRA. “Europe and other allied countries have nothing to fear from the Inflation Reduction Act and quite a bit to gain,” said Brian Deese, Biden’s top economic adviser. The fight over green subsidies also comes as geopolitical tensions are pushing countries to focus on greater localization of production — not just for green energy, but also for sensitive technologies like computer chips.

Companies could also move their gas trading off energy exchanges, where the EU price cap will apply, and instead conduct private transactions. The EU cap will not initially cover these "over-the-counter" (OTC) trades, although the bloc will review next year if they should be included. The EU price cap applies to EU hubs, but not those outside the bloc, such as Britain's National Balancing Point (NBP) trading hub. Front-month TTF prices met the price level required to trigger the EU cap on about 40 days this year. EU gas demand dropped by 20% in August-November this year, compared with the five-year average for the same period, Eurostat said on Tuesday.

☆ Europe’s Energy Risks Go Beyond Gas
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Mira Rojanasakul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

In terawatt hours of energy per month Gas Coal 80 80 60 60 2022 40 40 20 20 Previous years since 2015 Jan. Dec. Jan. Dec. In terawatt hours of energy per month Wind Solar 60 60 40 40 2022 20 20 Previous years since 2015 Jan. Dec. Jan. Dec. In terawatt hours of energy per month Gas Coal 80 80 60 60 2022 40 40 20 20 Previous years since 2015 Jan. Dec. Jan. Dec. In terawatt hours of energy per month Wind Solar 60 60 40 40 2022 20 20 Jan. Dec. Jan. Dec. In terawatt hours of energy per month Gas Coal 80 60 2022 40 20 Previous years since 2015 Jan. Dec. Jan. Dec.

☆ Here are the three big issues facing Ukraine as winter approaches
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Brad Howard | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Winter is on the way, and in war-torn Ukraine the fight against Russia appears far from over. And there's the prospect of a tactical nuclear weapon attack or even a meltdown at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Europe is also planning for a long-term change in energy policy, with most countries changing from relying on Russian energy exports. "We are already experiencing a very strong decoupling between Europe and Russia on energy," said Simone Tagliapietra, a senior fellow at Bruegel, a Brussels-based think tank. Watch the video above to find out more about the challenges Ukraine and Europe face this winter, and the potential solutions to these pressing problems.

☆ Explosions at Nord Stream gas pipelines signal escalation to 'hybrid war' as Russia weaponizes energy, analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Nord Stream pipeline explosions are a major escalation of the energy crisis, according to analyst Simone Tagliapietra. "Today, Russia brought its energy weaponisation against Europe to the next level: from economic to hybrid war," tweeted the senior fellow at the think tank Bruegel. The US is supporting efforts to investigate the "apparent sabotage" of the Nord Stream pipelines, a national security advisor said, while two senior German lawmakers have pointed the finger at Russia. The US Central Intelligence Agency warned Germany weeks ago about potential attacks on Nord Stream, German magazine Der Spiegel reported Tuesday. While the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 are shuttered and not delivering gas to Europe, European natural gas futures jumped 11% Wednesday as investors assessed the new risks to pipelines.

☆ European governments spend half a trillion euros on energy crisis - report
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Months of surging prices have seen governments roll out measures to curb retail power prices, slash energy taxes and give subsidies to bill-payers. If the cash governments have earmarked to nationalise, bail out or provide loans to ailing energy utilities was included, then EU governments have spent closer to 450 billion euros, the think-tank said. "Governments with more fiscal space will inevitably better manage the energy crisis by outcompeting their neighbours for limited energy resources over winter months." Germany, the EU's biggest economy, is by far the biggest spender in the bloc - setting aside 100 billion euros, versus 59 billion euros in Italy, or 200 million euros in Estonia, for example. The EU last week proposed bloc-wide measures to respond to sky-high energy prices, in a bid to overlay the patchwork of national responses with a coordinated reaction.

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