Francis Ghiles (Vía Fair Observer*) | The Ukraine-Russia crisis has laid bare Europe’s dangerous reliance on Russian energy. But it has also opened up new opportunities for the exporting of Libyan and Algerian gas. Never has the question of where Europe’s foreign gas supplies come from, and whether there are alternatives to the continent’s dependence on Russia, been so much debated as in recent weeks. A subject that is usually…
European Views | The conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues and so do the global gas supply issues. Iran hopes to step in and become Europe’s main gas provider replacing Russian gas export. Iran to Offer Alternative to Russian Gas Export in Europe Being the second-largest gas reserves globally, Iran has 34 trillion cubic metres of natural gas. It’s nearly 17% of the world’s total reserves. Some believe that Iran…
J.P. Marín-Arrese | PM Pedro Sánchez bet hard in the recent EU Summit when he pressed for an overhaul of the current marginal cost pricing in the electricity sector. While missing his goal, and rebuked by Germany and Holland, he was given as a consolation prize the promise that Spain and Portugal could cap electricity gas prices on a temporary basis, subject to final scrutiny by Brussels. Decoupling the most…
ASE Group | Russian gas supplies to Europe from Russia have increased since the war broke out because of long-term contracts, in place between European buyers and Russia’s Gazprom, which include strict commitment clauses. All parties are committed to respecting them or face serious losses. This is why Grazprom is avoiding direct economic sanctions from Europe.In any case, Russian flows are not back to normal for this time of year….
The United States has consolidated its position in February this year as the main exporter of natural gas to Spain. And for the second month in a row, purchases of this raw material from the US country have exceeded those from Algeria, the main supplier until the end of last year. This is revealed in the statistical bulletin of Enagás, the Spanish gas system operator. It flags that in February…
ASE Group | The rise in the price of CO2 emissions, up 36% so far this year to 45 euros per tonne (when a year ago it was around 15 euros per tonne) and in the price of gas, up 200%, is pushing up electricity prices across the continent, both current prices and those on the futures markets. Thus, for example, in Spain, the daily price of electricity on the wholesale market for the first 15 days of April stood at 58.13 €/MWh. This is 60% higher than at the end of March and also 60% above the average for the month of April in the last 5 years. If we compare it with April of last year, in the middle of the sanitary confinement, the price rises by 229%.
Santander | The arrival of the new government in Spain is good news for the gas and electricity markets, given that it is probable that it will respect the regulatory periods; it appears more focused on the spirit of the law (“fair returns”) than on the application of methodologies (differential over 10 year bonds) and it has the intention of reinforcing the role of the CNMC as an independent regulator.
Spain has strengthened the supply of natural gas to Europe via France, consolidating its position as a transit country for this fossil fuel, at a time of high demand on the continent due to the cold spell which is affecting a lot of neigbouring countries.
Spain’s big utility companies have accused the Energy Ministry of “driving investors away” with their strategy of revealing the next milestones in the energy reform to the large investment banks. The main electricity firms (Iberdrola, Endesa, Gas Natural and REE) saw almost 3 billion euros shaved off their market capitalisation in just one day.
UBS | US E&Ps cut capex by ~40% YoY in 2015 & are budgeted to cut >50% YoY this year. This has caused the US oil rig count to plunge from a peak of 1,609 in 2H14 to 328 (7- year low). But as spot WTI prices have moved from <$30/Bbl earlier this year to ~$46/Bbl currently, one of the key questions energy investors are asking is when will US E&Ps begin to add rigs?