Stories tagged with "russia"

The Changing Oil Supply Perspective - Opening Lecture Class Note Changes

It’s the start of a new Semester, and at the beginning of my Power class I spend the first lecture reviewing where I think we stand on the Energy supply to the United States. This has changed a bit since last year and so I thought I would run through some of the changes that I made to my lecture this year, in the same way as I did last September. Since the greatest impact is likely to come from the changing sources of supply that the US has had to go to, with the change in levels of production, I began with this slide:


Sources of Oil imported to the US in May 2009 (EIA)

UK NAT GAS WINTER 2009, FEBRUARY UPDATE

This is an update of my series about U.K. natural gas. In the second part of this series, I presented the results of several simulations of the U.K. natural gas supply situation for this winter. Using these simulations, I identified the possibility that U.K. might run short of natural gas in storage before the end of this winter.

In this post, I will provide the current status and a forecast for the U.K. natural gas supply and demand for the remainder of this heating season. The present status and the outlook suggest that this heating season will end with little natural gas in storage.


Update on UK Natural Gas Supplies and Storage

This is an update on my series about U.K. natural gas. In the second part of this series, I presented the results from several simulations of the U.K. natural gas supplies situation for this winter which had identified the potential that U.K. might run short of natural gas in storage before the end of this winter.

In this post, I will present status as of now and an update of the simulations of the U.K. natural gas supply and demand for the remainder of this heating season. The present status and the results from the simulations are quite troubling: it appears that there is a significant chance that the U.K. will run short of natural gas in storage before the end of winter.


Ukrainian Natural Gas Crisis Drags On

The Russian/Ukranian problems seem to continue. There is talk that the Ukraine is on the brink of bankruptcy:

How can this be good for gas supplies for the rest of Europe?

Gas crisis: Is Gazprom really expecting Europe to take its side against Ukraine?

Gazprom says Ukraine blocking resumed gas flows

MOSCOW, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Russian gas monopoly Gazprom (GAZP.MM) said Ukraine was blocking gas flows to Europe across Ukrainian territory on Tuesday. "We believed yesterday that the door for Russian gas was open but again it's been blocked by the Ukrainians," Gazprom export chief Alexander Medvedev [said]

The Russian Bear?

LATEST Russia will resume gas exports to Europe as soon as EU monitors arrive at gas compressor stations along the route, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said.

With news breaking that Russia has just suspended all exports of gas to and through Ukraine, what will the impact be on Europe and why has Russia chosen once again to take such drastic action?

Exports of gas from Russia fell 6% between 2006 and 2007 according to the BP statistical review of world energy. Production fell from 612.1 to 607.4 billion cubic meters (bcm) per annum and domestic consumption rose from 432.1 to 438.8 bcm per annum leading to a fall in exported gas.

Is Russia withholding gas supplies leading to higher prices and manipulation of its market position? Or is the Russian gas supply system unable to meet demand?


Ukraine-Russia gas spat: some background and context

As we enter yet another episode of worried or sanctimonious articles about the gas conflict between Russia and Ukraine, it's worth remembering a few simple facts:

1) The conflict started in 1992, not in 2006;

2) Russia cannot win a gas war against Ukraine and knows it;

3) the real underlying stakes are not about Russia or Ukraine.

The EU Strategic Energy Review: maybe not so depressing after all

Yesterday, on the basis of press reports, I noted that the new EU Energy Strategy was depressing, if predictable. But today, the strategy was actually posted on the EU's website (you can find it here, with all supporting documents) and, reading it, I find it much less offensive than the press makes it to be.

For one, beyond an early reference to the current goals of "sustainability, competitiveness and security of supply", there is not a word about competition and market mechanisms in the whole Memo on the Strategic Energy Review (pdf). Not one. I was amazed. In fact, this memo, beyond a bit of fluff that can easily be ignored, is almost sensible!

Let me get you through it.

Worthwhile Videos

What videos have you seen that you think others might be interested in? Here are a few I found:

From Peak Moment Television, this is Matt Simmons' 26 minute talk at the ASPO convention called, "Oil and Gas--The Next Meltdown:"

Back from the future collapse



With his book "Reinventing Collapse", Dmitry Orlov reports to us from a collapse that he has actually experienced with the fall of the Soviet Union. Russia's past is our future and Orlov's book is a time machine to there.