More UK manufacturers are cutting production or making job cuts as result of ‘out of control’ energy bills
Analysts are expecting gas prices to surge to record highs this week after Russia shut down a key pipeline to Europe.
At the same time, a growing number of UK manufacturers have said they are already cutting production or making job cuts as a direct result of “out of control” energy bills.
Continue reading...Shutdown over ‘oil leak’ comes only hours after G7 nations agree to impose a price cap
Fears that Europe could be engulfed by a winter energy crisis reached new heights yesterday after the Russian energy supplier Gazprom extended the shutdown of gas flows it had imposed through its key Nord Stream 1 pipeline into Germany.
The seriousness of the situation is underlined by the fact that Russia kept gas supplies to Europe flowing even at the height of the Cold War. By contrast, the pipeline has now been shut down twice since the Russian invasion of Ukraine: for 10 days in July in addition to the current indefinite closure.
Continue reading...Russian energy company had been due to resume gas delivery to Germany on Saturday morning
The Russian energy major Gazprom extended the shutdown of gas flows through its key Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany on Friday evening, providing no timeframe for a reopening.
The move came hours after G7 countries agreed to impose a price cap on Russian oil in an attempt to stem the flow of funds to Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Continue reading...Motorists forced to pay premium for smuggled black market fuel or drive to service stations at border with neighbouring Mozambique
Motorists in Malawi are having to rely on fuel smuggled in from neighbouring Mozambique as pumps across the country run dry, while some drivers told the Guardian they had to cross the border to get petrol as the country grapples with severe shortages.
“We have been depending on smuggled fuel from Mozambique,” said Allick Pondani, a motorist from the southern Malawi district of Phalombe. “Some entrepreneurs have taken advantage of the situation and are smuggling the scarce commodity, which they are selling at 50% over the normal pump price.”
Continue reading...European Commission says it is working ‘flat out’ on emergency intervention and on longer-term structural reform
The wholesale price of gas has dropped sharply in a rare respite from recent highs on signs that Europe is preparing to intervene directly in energy markets.
The European Commission said it was working “flat out” on an emergency package, and on a longer-term “structural reform of the electricity market” to combat soaring prices while efforts to fill gas storage facilities appear to be ahead of schedule.
Continue reading...Warning raises prospect of continued rationing, as Total boss says Europe has to plan for future without Russian supplies
Gas shortages across Europe are likely to last for several winters to come, the chief executive of Shell has said, raising the prospect of continued energy rationing as governments across the continent push to develop alternative supplies.
Cuts to the supply of Russian gas since the invasion of Ukraine have plunged European countries into a devastating energy crisis, driving up wholesale prices to leave consumers facing huge bills and the highest rates of inflation since the 1980s.
Continue reading...Company’s owner, Centrica, says extra support will begin in autumn and last for the ‘duration of the energy crisis’
British Gas has announced it will donate 10% of its profits to help its poorer customers manage rising gas and electricity bills for the “duration of the energy crisis”.
Ahead of an expected rise in the price cap on energy on Friday, the company’s owner, Centrica, said it would donate £12m this autumn into an existing support fund. Grants of £250 to £750 would be given to poorer customers, and the pledge to donate 10% of profits every six months would last for the duration of the energy crisis “backdated to the start of 2022”, it added.
Continue reading...German energy firm, which operates many UK power stations, has been bailed out by federal government
The owner of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire has posted a €12bn (£10bn) loss weeks after agreeing a bailout package with the German government, in a set of results that signal the deepening energy crisis across Europe.
Uniper received a €15bn lifeline from the German state in return for a 30% equity stake in a deal agreed in July.
Continue reading...Chinese recovery from lockdowns shows signs of fizzling out as central bank cuts interest rates
Global oil prices have dropped amid concerns over weaker growth in the Chinese economy caused by repeated Covid lockdowns and a downturn in the property sector.
A barrel of Brent crude fell by about 5% to below $94 (£78) on Monday, hitting the joint lowest levels since the Russian invasion of Ukraine as traders reacted to weaker figures from the world’s second-largest economy.
Continue reading...The $48bn figure from world’s biggest oil firm is thought to be one of largest quarterly profits in history
Saudi Arabia’s largely state-owned energy firm has highlighted the colossal profits made by gas and oil-rich nations during the energy crisis by revealing profits in the three months to the end of June up 90% to $48bn (£40bn).
Saudi Aramco recorded what is believed to be one of the largest quarterly profits in history to easily beat the near $26bn it made a year earlier.
Continue reading...Joseph Rowntree Foundation, consumer champion Martin Lewis and CBI chief urge PM to act urgently to help people with soaring energy bills
More on the new forecast for UK energy bills from Cornwall Insight, which spells more misery for millions of families across the UK.
The consultancy’s principal consultant, Dr Craig Lowrey, said:
It is essential that the government use our predictions to spur on a review of the support package being offered to consumers.
If the £400 was not enough to make a dent in the impact of our previous forecast, it most certainly is not enough now.
The government must make introducing more support over the first two quarters of 2023 a number one priority. In the longer term, a social tariff or other support mechanism to target support at the most vulnerable in society are options that we at Cornwall Insight have proposed previously. Right now, the current price cap is not working for consumers, suppliers, or the economy.
Continue reading...Output last month of Russian firm was down 14% on June, sharpening fears Moscow could provoke energy crisis in Europe
The daily gas production of Russia’s Gazprom dropped in July to its lowest level since 2008, figures suggest, amid continued fears that Moscow could cause an energy crisis in Europe by shutting off the supply.
The state-owned energy firm pumped 774 million cubic metres a day last month – 14% less than in June – according to analysis by Bloomberg of data released on Monday.
Continue reading...State-run Gazprom reduces flow through Nord Stream 1 to around 20% of its capacity
Germany has accused Moscow of engaging in “power play” over energy exports, as Russian state-run Gazprom further throttled gas supplies into Europe.
As announced two days earlier, the energy giant on Wednesday reduced the gas flow through Nord Stream 1 to 33m cubic metres a day – about 20% of the pipeline’s total capacity and half the amount it has been delivering since resuming service last week after 10 days of maintenance work.
Continue reading...Despite most energy ministers backing the scheme the EU was forced to water down proposals
The EU has been forced to water down its plan to ration gas this winter in an attempt to avoid an energy crisis generated by further Russian cuts to supply.
Energy ministers from the 27 member states, except Hungary, backed a voluntary 15% reduction in gas usage over the winter, a target that could become mandatory if the Kremlin ordered a complete shutdown of gas to Europe.
Continue reading...State-controlled energy company says it is halting a turbine due to the ‘technical condition of the engine’
The Russian state-controlled energy company Gazprom has announced a drastic cut to gas deliveries through its main pipeline to Europe from Wednesday.
The Russian gas export monopoly said it was halting the operation of one of the last two operating turbines due to the “technical condition of the engine”, cutting daily gas deliveries via the Nord Stream pipeline to 33m cubic metres a day – about 20% of the pipeline’s capacity.
Continue reading...Shipping of millions of tonnes from blockaded Black Sea ports could avert global food crisis
Ukraine and Russia have signed a UN-backed deal to allow the export of millions of tonnes of grain from blockaded Black Sea ports, potentially averting the threat of a catastrophic global food crisis.
A signing ceremony at Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul was attended by the UN secretary general, António Guterres, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey’s president, who had played a key role during months of tense negotiations.
A coalition of Turkish, Ukrainian and UN staff will monitor the loading of grain on to vessels in Ukrainian ports before navigating a pre-planned route through the Black Sea, which remains heavily mined by Ukrainian and Russian forces.
Ukrainian pilot vessels will guide commercial vessels transporting the grain in order to navigate the mined areas around the coastline using a map of safe channels provided by the Ukrainian side.
The vessels will then cross the Black Sea towards Turkey’s Bosphorus strait while being closely monitored by a joint coordination centre in Istanbul, containing representatives from the UN, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey.
Ships entering Ukraine will be inspected under the supervision of the same joint coordination centre to ensure they are not carrying weapons or items that could be used to attack the Ukrainian side.
The Russian and Ukrainian sides have agreed to withhold attacks on any of the commercial vessels or ports engaged in the initiative to transport vital grain, while UN and Turkish monitors will be present in Ukrainian ports in order to demarcate areas protected by the accord.
Continue reading...Call for voluntary cut until March 2023 with binding reduction targets possible when Moscow ‘likely’ halts supplies
The European Union’s executive body has urged member states to slash their gas consumption by 15%, as it warned that a complete shutdown of Russian supplies was “likely”.
The EU has been scrambling to wean itself off Russian gas since the invasion of Ukraine, but is alarmed about a potential energy crisis this winter.
Continue reading...Force majeure declared in letter to customers concerns supplies via Nord Stream 1 pipeline, says source
Russia’s Gazprom has told customers in Europe it cannot guarantee gas supplies because of “extraordinary” circumstances, according to a letter seen by Reuters, upping the ante in an economic tit-for-tat with the west over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Dated 14 July, the letter from the Russian state gas monopoly said it was declaring force majeure on supplies, starting from 14 June.
Continue reading...Ben van Beurden says Ukraine war fallout means big rise in bills and possible need to ration supplies
European consumers could face the prospect of energy rationing this winter as costs continue to soar amid the risk of Russia cutting off gas supplies, Shell’s chief executive has said.
“It will be a really tough winter in Europe,” said Ben van Beurden, speaking at the Aurora spring conference in Oxford on Thursday. “We will all face very significant escalation in energy prices. In the worst case, Europe will need to ration its energy consumption.”
Continue reading...Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine, the UN and Turkey seek deal to enable exports to pass on to the Danube
A traffic jam of more than 130 cargo ships loaded with Ukrainian grain is waiting in the Black Sea to pass into the Danube as negotiators from Moscow, Kyiv, the UN and Turkey hailed progress at talks in Istanbul on easing Ukrainian agricultural exports.
The ships are waiting to access exit routes through the Sulina and Bystre estuary canals to reach a series of ports and terminals in Romania from where the grain can be transported on around the world, amid mounting global concern about the Russian blockade on Ukrainian exports through the Black Sea.
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