There are almost 2,500 fossil fuel lobbyists at this year's Cop28 climate change summit in Dubai, more than four times as many as last year, according to an environmental analysis. The analysis from the Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition examined the presence of delegates from the fossil fuel industry at the UN's flagship climate summit, which has come in for sustained criticism for its host's ties to oil and gas. KBPO found 2,456 fossil fuel lobbyists have been granted access to Cop28, despite reducing or phasing out oil and gas altogether being one of the main aims of climate scientists and leaders from around the world. If the fossil fuel lobby was a country, its numbers of delegates would only be beaten by Brazil, with more than 3,000 in attendance and the host United Arab Emirates with 4,400, KBPO said. Its analysis calculated the fossil fuel industry was given more passes to Cop28 than the combined passes of 10 of the countries across the world that are most vulnerable to climate change, and seven times the number given to delegates from indigenous people. 'Poisonous presence' Alexia Leclercq of the environmental non-profit Start:Empowerment said: "Big polluters’ poisonous presence has bogged us down for years, keeping us from advancing the pathways needed to keep fossil fuels in the ground. They are the reason Cop28 is clouded in a fog of climate denial, not climate reality.”
Cop28 has been dogged by criticism it is greenwashing the climate change summit. President of Cop28 Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber has allegedly been planning secret deals to vastly expand oil and gas production at the event, a direct contradiction of the aim of the event, which is for world leaders and scientists to agree a path to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Mr al-Jaber, who is head of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), the 12th largest oil-producing firm in the world, told chair of the Elders Mary Robinson in a contentious online exchange there is "no science" behind the aim of reducing fossil fuels if global warming is to be kept to 1.5C compared to the 1850-1900 age, in direct contradiction to the almost unanimous consensus of global scientists.
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The start of the peak consumption season in the EU amid rising demand from Asia could drive up prices for natural gas on the continent despite ample supply of liquified natural gas (LNG) globally, Oilprice reported this week.
According to the outlet, the situation has been worsened by a range of factors, such as geopolitical tensions, including the recent Houthi ship seizure. Supply-chain challenges, like the restrictions in the Panama Canal and risks in the Suez Canal, have also been causing concerns for global LNG shipping and pricing, the report added. “Vulnerability to any occurrence that can influence prices was made crystal clear earlier this week when European benchmark prices jumped after the news broke of Houthis seizing a cargo ship in the Red Sea,” Oilprice wrote, noting that the ship was linked to an Israeli company and therefore was widely seen as a sign of a possible escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. According to the report, citing S&P Global, some experts in the gas trading industry believe LNG prices won’t climb much higher, even in light of rising geopolitical risks in the Middle East. Other experts reportedly suggest that shipping news has become quite important for all sorts of commodities lately due to restricted movement via the Panama Canal and riskier passage via the Suez Canal as a result of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Asian buyers of US LNG have also been seeking alternative routes in the wake of the limited movement in the key choke-point between North and South America, which is expected to add to freight rates, the report noted. “Speaking of supply, it may be plentiful, but as last year’s Freeport outage demonstrated, this abundance is one outage away from a disruption and a price spike,” Oilprice wrote. The blast at a massive US gas export plant last June shut the facility down for the rest of the year. Freeport, which had accounted for a tenth of European LNG imports before the blast, only reopened in February this year. The force majeure has led to a spike in gas prices on the continent. With temperatures dropping for winter, gas prices could climb higher in the EU, while global prices may be more resilient, Oilprice concluded. A warm winter last year and efforts by the EU to build up stocks helped to avoid a recurrence of the 2021 energy crisis, when gas prices in the region spiked over €300 ($320) per megawatt hour following the bloc’s decision to shift away from Russian supplies. European gas prices were volatile this week as traders weighed higher heating demand in colder weather with still nearly full EU inventories. The front-month Dutch TTF Natural Gas Futures, the benchmark for Europe’s gas trading, were trading 1.3% lower on Wednesday at $44.66 per megawatt-hour as of 11:04am GMT. Limits on electricity and gas prices will not be extended until March 2024 as previously planned, but will expire at the end of this year, Deutschlandfunk radio station has cited Finance Minister Christian Lindner as saying in an interview to be aired on Sunday.
“As of December 31 of this year the Economic and Stabilization Fund will be closed,” Lindner said. “There will be no more payouts from this. The electricity and gas price brakes will also be terminated.” Lindner did not clarify whether energy support would be provided via the regular budget in 2024. The financial support scheme was introduced to protect households and businesses from soaring prices of gas and electricity after Germany, along with many other EU member states, opted to slash energy imports from Russia after the outbreak of the military conflict in Ukraine. Earlier this month, the European Commission called on Berlin to phase out its price caps as soon as possible. The decision comes days after the German Constitutional Court blocked the federal government's move to transfer €60 billion ($66 billion) from funds initially earmarked to tackle the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, to other projects. The fund – known by its German abbreviation WSF – is one of the country’s 29 such non-budget institutions, worth around €870 billion. The ruling has jeopardised funding for plans to modernise the German economy and fight climate change. The decision by the country’s top court could also set a precedent for fiscal responses to future crises. The once-glorified clean-energy stocks are now facing their darkest days, plunging the industry into a financial abyss that threatens America’s ambitious environmental aspirations. The much-touted green revolution is looking more like a red alert as the sector hemorrhages tens of billions in market value. Sure, we’re told that hundreds of billions is still pouring into renewable energy projects, despite the fact that the stock market seems to have declared a resounding “no thanks” to these ventures. The iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund), the poster child for the industry, has nosedived by over 30% this year and a whopping 50% since the dawn of 2021. Not to be outdone, specific sectors are getting their fair share of punishment. The Invesco Solar ETF is down over 40% in 2023, while the First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF is witnessing losses of about 20% this year and a grim 40% since January 2021. It seems the wind has been knocked out of their sails. Blame it on rising interest rates, the industry’s newfound nemesis. These higher rates have not only increased costs but also put a damper on consumer enthusiasm, leading to a nosedive in stock valuations for companies that once promised a green utopia but are now struggling to turn a profit. Solar companies such as SolarEdge and Enphase Energy are feeling the burn as demand for their products dwindles. Meanwhile, wind energy giant Orsted is singing the blues, with shares plummeting after revealing potential multibillion-dollar write-downs on its offshore wind projects in the US. In Germany, after the Nord Stream sabotage, because, you know, energy geopolitics and straightforward plans always go hand in hand, a whopping 77% of skeptics are shaking their heads, expressing disbelief that the nation will magically conjure up 80% of electricity from renewables by 2030. I guess turning skepticism into solar power hasn’t quite hit the mainstream yet. Switzerland, the poster child for phasing out nuclear power, is now flexing its green muscles by entertaining the idea of keeping nuclear plants running longer, because who needs a clear exit strategy when you can just extend the atomic party until 2040? Biden’s green dreams are melting faster than his favorite ice cream in the sun In the US, the demise of two New Jersey wind projects is just the tip of the iceberg, with inflation, sky-high interest rates, and a supply chain in shambles throwing a wrench into the gears of Joe’s climate ambitions. Despite a whopping $369 billion in federal aid from his climate law, clean energy projects are dropping like flies. Even the postponement of a Kentucky EV battery plant by Ford and General Motors trimming their EV plans couldn’t escape the economic tempest. It seems the only thing rising faster than hopes for a clean energy revolution is the cost. But hey, who needs affordable, reliable energy when we’ve got grand climate goals, right? Biden’s green plans are becoming a chilling reality check, and it’s not just the polar ice caps feeling the heat. It’s ironic, isn’t it? Not too long ago, clean energy was hailed as the savior of our planet, but now it seems the green agenda is drowning in a sea of red ink. The S&P Global Energy index, once a shining star, has seen its value halved since 2020 – a spectacular fall from grace. Fast forward to the present, and we witness the mighty green stocks taking a severe beating. Despite the EU and US governments offering billions in tax credits and subsidies to support the so-called green transition from Russian oil and gas, investors are losing confidence faster than you can say “renewable.”
The S&P Global Clean Energy Index has experienced a gut-wrenching 30% freefall in 2023, with the biggest quarterly outflow of $1.4 billion. The once-booming sector now holds a 23% decline in total assets under management, a far cry from its heyday just a few months ago. Blame it on the current economic climate, they say – high interest rates, soaring costs, and supply chain woes are the villains of this melodrama. And let’s not forget China, the puppet master of the solar supply chain, flooding the market with cheap alternatives, undermining the EU’s dreams of a local green market. As utility stocks struggle to convert to green energy, the sector’s operating margins are squeezed. The final nail in the coffin? NextEra Energy Partners cutting its growth target by half, sending shockwaves through the renewable industry. I dismiss the sell-off as overblown, but the damage is done, and confidence in renewables has hit rock bottom. So, what’s the moral of this green tale? It turns out, going green is not just about saving the planet; it’s an expensive affair. As the renewable energy stocks hit rock bottom, analysts are left wondering: is it time to buy, or is the green dream truly over? In a deliciously ironic plot twist, Greta Thunberg is currently sizzling in the crucible of criticism for daring to support Gaza. It seems our climate crusader is now facing a cancel-culture bonanza, much like the tweet she swiftly deleted – you know, the one prophesying Armageddon and cautioning that climate change might just “wipe out humanity” unless we magically halt fossil fuel usage by the grandiose deadline of 2023. The irony is thicker than Beijing’s smog, folks. Seems like even the green warriors can’t escape the unforgiving reality of the market. A Ukrainian military officer allegedly coordinated last year's attack on the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline, according to The Washington Post, citing anonymous sources in Ukraine and Europe.
No one has taken responsibility for the September 2022 explosions, off the Danish island of Bornholm, that damaged three out of four offshore natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea and delivering Russian gas to Europe. The United States and NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, called it an act of sabotage, while Moscow said it was an act of international terrorism. Germany, Denmark and Sweden have launched investigations into the Nord Stream explosions, which sent plumes of methane into the atmosphere in a leak that lasted several days. Roman Chervinsky, a decorated 48-year-old colonel who served in Ukraine’s special operations forces, was the “coordinator” of the Nord Stream operation, according to people familiar with his role, The Washington Post reported Saturday. Chervinsky, sources say, managed logistics and support for a six-person team that rented a sailboat under false identities and used deep-sea diving equipment to place explosive charges on the gas pipelines, The Washington Post reported. On Sept. 26, 2022, three explosions caused massive leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, The attack left only one of the four gas links in the network intact as winter approached. A spokesperson for Ukraine’s military told the Reuters news agency he had "no information" about the claim. The Ukrainian foreign ministry and Kyiv's domestic security service, the SBU, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The newspaper also reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has denied Kyiv's role in the blasts, had been unaware of the operation. Zelenskyy last week replaced the head of Ukraine’s special operations forces. Chervinsky denied any involvement in the pipeline explosions. An outspoken critic of Zelenskyy’s administration, he said the case against him is politically motivated. “All speculations about my involvement in the attack on Nord Stream are being spread by Russian propaganda without any basis,” Chervinsky said in a written statement to The Washington Post and Germany's Der Spiegel newspaper, which conducted a joint investigation of his role. Chervinsky is currently under arrest for attempting to convince a Russian pilot in 2022 to defect to Ukraine, which investigators say led to a deadly Russian attack on a Ukrainian air base. Although he is accused on acting alone in this, his commanding officer at the time, Maj. Gen. Viktor Hanushchak, told Ukrainian media earlier this year that senior military leadership had signed off on the plot to lure the Russian pilot. The Post and Der Spiegel collaborated on reporting and wrote separate stories that they agreed to publish at the same time. Separately, three Russian soldiers were killed Saturday in a blast in the Russian-occupied town of Melitopol, according to Ukraine’s intelligence directorate. "This act of revenge, carried out by representatives of the local resistance, “a directorate statement said, “took place in the New Post offices seized by the Russians." Reuters said the Russians have not mentioned the incident and the news agency has not been able to verify the incident. The volume of natural gas in EU underground storage facilities has soared to an all-time high, reaching nearly 98%, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) data released on Monday.
Gas inventories across the EU and the UK amounted to 1,114 terawatt-hours (TWh), breaking the previous record set in October 2019, when it reached 1,102 TWh. Gas reservoirs in the EU are now 97.89% full, exceeding the bloc’s target of 90% by November 1 and providing some cushion ahead of the heating season. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to the region remained the lowest in almost two years in October, the European gas operator association revealed. Meanwhile, Russia’s energy major Gazprom continues to supply gas for transit to Western and Central Europe through Ukraine via the only remaining gas pumping station, Sudzha. The amount totals 42.5 million cubic meters per day as of October 17. Ukraine shut down transit through the Sokhranovka station, a key gas transit route which handled around a third of the Russian gas being supplied to the EU, in May 2022, citing “interference by the occupying forces.” Russia used to deliver about 155 bcm of natural gas to the EU annually before the start of the Ukraine conflict, primarily via pipelines. In January, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, claimed that the EU has reduced Russian gas imports by 80%. To offset gas supply shortfalls, the EU has resorted to taking in high-priced shipments of LNG from the US and Qatar, and increased pipeline imports from Norway and Azerbaijan. “We’re talking about buying American gas, but production volumes there are also limited, and it’s not so easy to spin everything up quickly,” Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out last week. He noted that while his country has already found an alternative to the European gas market, the EU still cannot make do without Russian gas. “Thus far, European countries cannot cope without our gas in full. They simply have nowhere to get it,” Putin said, adding that “physical” volumes of the fuel the bloc is currently receiving from other exporters are insufficient to cover demand. An undersea gas pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia is temporarily out of service after gas system companies in both countries observed an unexpected drop in pressure likely caused by a leak, its operators have said.
“I do not want to speculate at all on the cause of the leak,” Janne Gronlund, a senior executive at Finnish energy firm Gasgrid, told Reuters on Sunday. He added that gas supplies remained stable, and that measures had been taken to isolate the pipeline to prevent further gas from escaping. Gronlund said the pipeline, which is capable of flowing in either direction depending on requirements, was transporting around 30 gigawatt hours of gas each day from Finland to Estonia at the time of the fault. Gasgrid also said gas “has been secured through the Inkoo floating LNG terminal for the time being.” The “unusual drop in pressure” was first noticed just before 2am local time (11pm GMT) by Gasgrid engineers and operators from Estonia’s Elering, the Finnish company said on its website. The 48 mile (77km) Balticconnector pipeline links Inkoo in Finland and the Estonian port town of Paldiski, and across the Gulf of Finland – a stretch of the Baltic Sea that extends in Russian waters towards the port of St. Petersburg. The pipeline began its commercial operations in early 2020. Elering has indicated that any shortfalls in its supplies would be bolstered by gas from Latvia. In September of last year, the Nord Stream pipelines transporting gas between Russia and Germany in the Baltic Sea were hit by underwater explosions which led to four leaks. The incidents, which remain unsolved, are considered by authorities to have been sabotage. In February, American journalist Seymour Hersh cited anonymous sources from the intelligence community in a report claiming that US President Joe Biden had ordered the CIA to blow up the pipelines. He added that the operation was conducted in conjunction with the Norwegian Navy and that a NATO exercise in the region was used as cover. Washington has denied having any role in the sabotage. Investigative journalists have been carrying out their own research to solve the Nord Stream whodunnit, leading to sometimes sensational, if unconfirmed, reports.
Dutch military intelligence warned the CIA of a Ukrainian plan to blow up the pipelines three months before the attack, Dutch broadcaster NOS and Germany’s Die Zeit and ARD reported in June. The Washington Post made a similar claim. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly denied his country was behind the sabotage. “I would never do that,” he told Germany’s Bild newspaper, adding he would “like to see proof”. In March, The New York Times wrote that US officials had seen intelligence indicating a “pro-Ukrainian group” was responsible, without Zelenskyy’s knowledge. German media have focused on the Andromeda, with reporters from Der Spiegel magazine and broadcaster ZDF recreating the journey they believe was made by the six-person crew. According to their reporting, a forged passport used to hire the sailboat leads back to a Ukrainian soldier, while the charter fee was paid by a company registered in Poland with ties to a woman in Kyiv. In June, The Wall Street Journal reported Germany was trying to match DNA samples found on the vessel “to at least one Ukrainian soldier”. The Journal also said evidence found in the investigation included data from Andromeda’s radio and navigation equipment, satellite and mobile phones, and Gmail accounts allegedly used by the perpetrators. Danish media have reported a Russian naval vessel specialised in submarine operations, the SS-750, was photographed near the site of the blasts days before the attack. US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported in February the US was behind the blasts and that Norway assisted. It was dismissed as “fiction” by the White House. Was it a false flag operation? Experts have not ruled out a “false flag” operation by Russia, with clues deliberately placed to pin the blame on Ukraine. Andreas Umland, an analyst at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies, said he sees Russia as “the most likely” culprit. Any suspected involvement by Kyiv in an attack on Europe’s energy infrastructure could threaten the support of allies, which would benefit Russia. At the same time, the destroyed pipelines could help Gazprom avoid compensation claims for undelivered gas, even though the company was reluctant to keep the taps open before the blasts. Moscow may have sought “to kill two birds with one stone”, Umland said. The Kremlin has strongly denied responsibility. Moscow blames the US Russia has alleged the US was behind the attack, noting the sabotage “occurred after the repeated threats to the Nord Stream by the leadership of the United States”. In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the argument that Kyiv was behind the explosions, instead laying blame on the US. “Who is interested? Theoretically, the United States is interested in stopping the supply of Russian energy to the European market and supplying volumes of its own,” he told an interviewer. “Such an explosion, so powerful and at such depth, could only be conducted by experts backed by the entire potential of a state that has relevant technologies,” said Putin. Diplomatically sensitive investigations ongoing The blasts occurred in the economic zones of Sweden and Denmark, so both countries launched investigations into the incident. So far, they say the explosions were deliberate, but they have yet to single out who was behind the blasts. Germany also launched an investigation with federal prosecutors searching a yacht in January that might have been used to transport the explosives. They seized objects from the vessel and found traces of explosives. Germany’s flagship airline Lufthansa has warned that it would need to consume half of the country’s entire electricity output if it were to shift to green fuels such as e-kerosene, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr reportedly stated that synthetic fuels manufactured using renewable energy represented the best approach to decarbonize aviation. However, it is unlikely that there is sufficient green electricity in Germany to generate them, the executive warned. “We would need around half of Germany’s electricity to create enough of the fuels,” Spohr was quoted as saying at an aviation conference in Hamburg. “I don’t think Mr. Habeck is going to give me that,” he added, referring to Economy and Energy Minister Robert Habeck. According to the report, synthetic fuels such as green kerosene, which is derived from water, are seen by aviation industry executives as the only technically viable way to decarbonize air travel. The industry has been working to set up a market for a carbon-neutral version of the kerosene that powers most modern aircraft. However, the process requires huge amounts of electricity generated from renewable resources in order to ensure carbon neutrality. The attempts to decarbonize air travel come at a time when Germany has to rely on imported electricity because it can no longer meet its demand with domestically generated power. The EU’s largest economy has had to ramp up electricity imports this year after the government decided to shut down the country’s last remaining nuclear power plants in favor of renewable energy sources. Germany has also been struggling due to the reduction in Russian energy deliveries, which were almost entirely halted after the EU imposed sanctions on Moscow last year in response to the Ukraine conflict. Prior to 2022, Germany relied on Russia for roughly 40% of its natural gas. German industry executives have sounded the alarm over looming electricity shortages that could endanger the competitiveness of Germany as an industrial hub. Japan is planning to create a global strategic natural gas reserve to guard against energy crunches such as the one that hit the EU and its allies last year, Bloomberg reported this week.
Tokyo’s plan will be presented to the International Energy Agency (IEA) and involves a so-called strategic buffer similar to an emergency oil reserve, the outlet said, citing people familiar with the matter. The IEA already requires member nations such as the US and Japan to have a strategic stockpile of oil equivalent to at least 90 days of net imports in case of emergency, Bloomberg said. Tokyo will reportedly suggest including its gas reserve proposal on the agenda for an IEA ministerial meeting in February. Japan’s global gas buffer idea comes as the import-dependent nation ramps up efforts to ensure it has enough fuel amid soaring energy prices and intensifying competition on the LNG market. READ MORE: Japan exempts Russian energy projects from sanctionsThe energy-poor country is heavily dependent on external supplies. Tokyo has been reluctant to sanction the Russian energy sector, and has repeatedly noted its importance for Japanese energy security. Japan received an exemption from the Western price cap on Russian oil imports, which saw supplies from the Far Eastern Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project excluded. Japan has also kept its stakes in joint energy projects in Russia. Iran is seeking to create a gas hub in cooperation with the country’s Eurasian trade partners, Oil Minister Javad Owji announced on Wednesday. The move is part of Tehran’s efforts to strengthen regional cooperation and enhance its position on the global energy market.
Iran is one of the largest oil and gas producers in the world, selling most of its energy to Asian markets despite the threat of US secondary sanctions. The new project is planned for the Asaluyeh region of the southern Bushehr province. “Having 33 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves and thanks to the cooperation of Turkmenistan, Russia and Qatar, we are trying to become a gas hub,” the minister told reporters, insisting that the conditions were in place to achieve that goal. The statement comes as Tehran has stepped up energy purchases from neighboring Turkmenistan, with the capacity to import between 40 and 50 million cubic meters of gas daily. Iran’s major gas fields are concentrated in the south, necessitating imports from its northern neighbor, particularly in the winter. Iran has also strengthened energy cooperation with Russia, which, according to Owji, could assist in the Islamic Republic’s energy hub ambitions. The two countries have joint investments in exploration and production, technology swap agreements, and a deal to jointly build oil pipelines from Iran to Oman and Pakistan. Last month, Tehran and Moscow sealed two major cooperation agreements and eight memorandums of understanding covering everything from energy and technology to the creation of a joint market. Eurozone inflation surged to 7% in April in the first increase in the last five months, data released by the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat on Tuesday showed. Consumer prices rose from 6.9% in March, driven by food prices that soared 13.6% year-on-year last month. Food, alcohol and tobacco are expected to have the highest annual rate in April, followed by non-energy industrial goods, which picked up 6.2%.
Services climbed by 5.2% in April, compared with 5.1% the previous month. Energy prices were up again by 2.5% after a slight decline by 0.9% in March, according to the report. Core inflation – excluding food and energy prices – declined from 5.7% in March to 5.6% in April. The figures are closely watched by European Central Bank policymakers, who will decide whether to continue raising interest rates to curb inflation when they meet on Thursday. Latvia continues to struggle with the highest inflation at 15%, followed by Slovakia, Lithuania and Ireland — all dealing with a double-digit surge in consumer prices among the 20-member eurozone. Inflation in Germany, the EU's biggest economy, declined to 7.6% in April from 7.8% in March. In France, however, consumer prices rose 6.9% last month up from 6.7% in March, Eurostat said. While the ECB has not committed to a new rate hike, the latest figures make it more likely, economists warn. The key deposit rate in the eurozone stands at 3%. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently said that taming inflation while avoiding a recession was the biggest challenge the EU will face in the months to come. The development of Hydrogen City, Texas began in the early 2000s when a group of scientists and entrepreneurs came together to explore the potential of hydrogen fuel cell technology. They saw an opportunity to create a hub of innovation in the field, and with the support of local and state governments, they set to work building a community around this vision.
The first step was to attract the right talent to the area. The founders of Hydrogen City reached out to universities and research institutions around the world, inviting experts in the field of hydrogen fuel cells to come and work in the town. They also established partnerships with companies in the industry, offering them incentives to set up shop in Hydrogen City. As the town began to take shape, the founders focused on creating an infrastructure that would support the development of hydrogen fuel cell technology. They built research facilities, manufacturing plants, and testing centers, all designed to help companies bring their ideas to market. The town's early years were not without challenges. There were concerns about the safety of hydrogen fuel cells, and some investors were hesitant to put money into a technology that had not yet proven itself. But the founders of Hydrogen City remained committed to their vision, and over time, they began to see success. One of the key factors in Hydrogen City's development was its focus on collaboration. The town became a hub of activity, with scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs all working together to solve problems and push the boundaries of the technology. This collaborative spirit attracted even more talent to the area, creating a virtuous cycle of innovation. Over the years, Hydrogen City continued to grow and evolve. The town became a center of excellence for hydrogen fuel cell technology, attracting attention from around the world. Governments and industry leaders began to take notice of the work being done in Hydrogen City, and the town received significant investments and support to continue its growth. Today, Hydrogen City is a thriving metropolis with a population that exceeds 100,000 people. The town is powered entirely by hydrogen fuel cells, and its residents enjoy a high standard of living, with access to clean energy and a wide range of job opportunities in the renewable energy sector. Hydrogen City serves as a shining example of what can be achieved when people come together to work towards a common goal. Its success is a testament to the power of collaboration, innovation, and a shared vision for a better future. India and China have stepped up purchases of Russian Arctic oil grades following Western sanctions on Russian crude, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing traders and vessel-tracking data from Refinitiv. The EU, G7 nations and Australia introduced a price cap on Russian oil late last year, while the EU also placed an embargo on seaborne Russian crude. According to the report, Indian purchases of Russia’s Arco and Arco/Novy Port grade crude reached a record of 6.67 million barrels in November. Another 4.1 million barrels of those crude grades were supplied to the country in December, along with a 900,000-barrel shipment of Varandey crude, India’s first purchase of the grade. Prior to Western sanctions on Russian energy, Arctic grades were usually supplied to European countries. A source cited at an Indian refiner stated gross product margins from the processing of Russian Arctic crude grades are over $10 a barrel higher against similar quality US oil. Along with steep discounts sellers offer for Russian shipments, this makes Russian oil increasingly attractive to buyers, analysts say. Prior to the crisis in Ukraine, India, the second-biggest oil consumer in Asia, was a small marginal buyer of Russian crude. However, the situation changed after Western buyers started shunning the fuel due to sanctions, and in November last year, Russia became India’s largest oil supplier.
Data also showed that at least three vessels loaded with some 2.58 million barrels of Arctic crude are currently on their way to China from the Russian port of Murmansk. Like New Delhi, Beijing hasn’t joined Western sanctions against Russian oil, instead boosting Russian crude purchases by 10.2% in January-November last year, to 79.78 million tons. In November, Russia overtook Saudi Arabia as China’s largest crude provider, according to a Chinese customs report issued late last month. Meanwhile, European purchases of Russian oil have been dwindling. Russia’s seaborne crude exports to European countries fell to 167,000 barrels a day in the 28 days to December 30, from more than 1.5 million barrels a day a year earlier, Bloomberg reported this week, citing vessel tracking data.
At their peak in August, European gas prices topped €345 ($367) MWh, sending household energy bills soaring and fueling a cost-of-living crisis across much of the continent. The current decline in prices is attributed to several factors, including unseasonably warm winter weather in much of north-western Europe, which has helped reduce demand for heating. EU countries agreed last week to set an emergency cap on wholesale gas prices at €180 ($191) per megawatt-hour, which would be triggered if gas futures trade at a higher level for three consecutive days. The measure will take effect on February 15 and is aimed at protecting consumers from gas price hikes. In November, Goldman Sachs predicted a sharp drop in European gas prices in the coming months due to a stabilizing situation with storage levels. However, despite the current decline, gas prices remain several times higher than the long-term average. Prior to spiking to historic highs this year on concerns over Russian energy supplies, TTF gas spot prices were trading in a €10-25 MWh range in the 2017-2019 period. In 2020, the market was hit by Covid-induced demand shock, followed by the exponential price rise this summer.
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