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European energy prices looking weak heading into third quarter

This article was written by Harriet Roberts. It discusses the findings of the ICIS European Energy Mid-Year Outlook 2019 European energy prices weak on oversupply, power benchmark front-year has room to fall European wholesale gas and power prices are set for a bearish third quarter, underpinned by strong supply at both a continental and global […]

2016 – for LNG it was the year that wasn’t

The long-awaited surge of new global LNG production has not led to the widely-expected and sustained oversupply in the market, at least so far in 2016. The expected end of European reloads as a result of more production starting up in both Atlantic and Pacific basins has also not come to pass. ICIS spot prices […]

Ballast bonuses sink shipping activity

The cancellation of two planned LNG vessel charters in Europe this week shows that it’s becoming harder and harder to get hold of an LNG carrier at the right price in the Atlantic Basin. Danish energy company DONG and Swiss trader Glencore were both in discussions with ship owners about chartering vessels for reloads in […]

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 […]

Squaring the circle of Nord Stream 2

The planned Nord Stream extension continues to generate vigorous debate, showing the difficulty of marrying aims of cost-effectiveness, social benefit and political acceptability. A project of Russia’s Gazprom in partnership with a handful of Europe-based energy majors, Nord Stream 2 would double the existing gas supply pipeline’s capacity of 55bcm/year by 2019. It would also […]

Advice for politicians touting security of supply: be practical

A common theme was bandied about the stage at Gas Infrastructure Europe’s annual conference in Sofia last week: security and diversification of supply. But conference goers are seemingly tired of what they are terming political idealisms. The speaker line-up on day one of the conference was impressive. Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borissov stole the limelight […]

No North Sea, no problem

The dramatic decline of oil prices over the past couple of years has led to the re-evaluation of investments into UK North Sea oil and gas production. Potentially untapped resources that remain on the British continental shelf are in areas of more challenging geographies and environments. Even before the commodity crash, many were anticipating a […]

LNG in the Med and topsy-turvy price trends

Observers of the French and Spanish gas markets over the last few months cannot have failed to note a mounting challenge to the traditional price structure in the region. LNG – both in terms of quantity and price – has played an important role in the recent shift. While historically Spanish AOC hub prices have […]

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