Bulgaria and the European Commission have recently been announcing, with much fanfare, the country is investing in a natural gas hub. Or the Balkan Gas Hub, to give it its formal title. The crescendo of statements about this Balkan hub reached their zenith last week at a roundtable over which Bulgaria’s prime minister Boyko Borissov […]
Energy Connections
This winter it really is about the weather
The cliche about weather driving energy prices, in particular on European gas and Asian LNG, is just as relevant this year as ever before. A mild weather with no extended periods of freezing cold in Europe could see forward gas prices steadily ease down despite fears over a lack of gas storage in the UK […]
Time for change: The expiry of Gazprom contracts in eastern Europe
While all eyes are turned to Russia’s natural gas pipeline projects – Nord Stream II, TurkStream and South Stream – which it intends to build in Europe in the upcoming years, comparatively less attention is paid to imminent changes that are set to reconfigure gas markets in eastern Europe and Turkey. The transformations are being […]
Gas market link-ups in the Balkans are high on this summer’s agenda
South east European gas markets represent something of a ‘final frontier’ for energy companies and politicians alike, the former seeking out new business opportunities and the latter trying to promote greater security of supply and competitiveness. This summer several developments have turned the spotlight back onto the area, dangling the promise of greater gas interconnectivity […]
Yahoo switch an example of increased fragmentation to come
Friday 5 August will be the end of an era for energy traders that have relied on the Yahoo messenger over the years, as the tech company winds down the traditional service. A proliferation of companies have looked to step into the gap – read more on that here. The result is most energy traders […]
Take the city of Oxford to space, and other things you can do with the £33bn Hinkley Point subsidy pot
Energy news, often confined to the inside pages of UK national newspapers, led the front pages last week when the British government stunned French state-owned firm EDF by announcing a review of the contract underpinning the giant Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant. When discussing our coverage with ICIS colleagues, we made a back-of-the-envelope calculation […]
Just how Rough will UK gas supply be this winter?
News that Britain’s largest natural gas storage site Rough could be out of action for the coming winter sent shock waves through the NBP market. The announcement has ramifications not just in Britain, but throughout northwest Europe due to the influence of the NBP. So how much does Britain actually rely on Rough to supply […]
Northwest Europe is a surprisingly important source of LNG
The content of my conversations with LNG traders and ship brokers has changed in recent months with a much greater interest now in pricing developments at northwest European gas hubs. About a year ago Europe was touted by LNG sellers as the key source of demand in a market that would be oversupplied for years […]
European Commission’s drafting feedback tool a win for transparency
The launch of the European Commission’s new public feedback tool is a much-needed step forward for transparency in the EU law-making process. The tool, available here, was launched on 30 June and gives the public access to draft delegated and implementing acts. The public can also lodge feedback via the tool for four weeks after […]
Brexit and UK energy investment – how long before the dust will settle?
Following on from my colleague Fionn O’Raghallaigh’s excellent blog post on Brexit and financial regulation, I find myself sitting at work two Tuesdays after the Monday after the Friday before. As editor of a power market publication, I can often find myself reading or writing about wind power, but this time it is about wind […]