Month: September 2022

In her annual state of the union speech, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen set out major energy market interventions to manage high prices The European Commission has stepped back from earlier plans to cap the price of Russian gas, proposing instead to set up a new task force with EU member state representatives that will attempt to negotiate deals with key suppliers such as Norway. In her annual state of the union speech before the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday (14 September), Commission president Ursula von der…

Continued volatility has seen oil prices gain 1% on Wednesday, as the market attempts to decipher the latest demand growth, US crude inventory data, inflation indications and the impact of China’s COVID lockdowns. As of 3:33 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Brent crude was trading up $0.53, at $93.73, for a 0.60% gain on the day. WTI was trading up $0.83, at $88.14, for a 0.95% gain on the day. Oil prices appear to be reacting, in part, to Wednesday’s release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Producer Price…

In the new era of energy shortages, one aspect of the situation has tended to get overlooked: the transport of energy. Demand for tankers has been on the rise since the European Union slapped sanctions on Russia in the spring, and this trend is only going to intensify in the coming months as the EU embargo on Russian oil and fuels enters into effect. Bloomberg reported this week that shipping companies were scrambling to get their hands on as many ice-class tankers as they could ahead of the embargo, which comes into…