Gas prices soar as Russia shuts off major pipeline to Europe

Russia shut off one of its biggest pipelines, Nord Stream I, on August 31, which runs under the Baltic Sea to Germany. While Russia initially said it was taking this step because of a technical fault, many European leaders said the country was retaliating to European sanctions imposed on it after its invasion of Ukraine. The shutdown triggered a surge in gas prices and a slump in the value of the euro and pound. EU countries are now looking to store as much gas as they can ahead of a harsh winter and are also looking for alternative fuel sources as they brace for a severe gas shortage. 

Gas flows from other key routes, such as the eastbound Yamal-Europe pipeline, however, remained steady this week. Russian energy firm Gazprom committed to ship 42.4 million cubic metres of natural gas to Europe through Ukraine. 

Chinese LNG firms pump up supply for overseas market amidst global energy crisis

As the global energy crisis worsens, Chinese LNG companies are ramping up their supplies for the overseas market, especially Europe. Some firms have seen a double-digit rise in their overseas orders, Global Times reported. The price of gas at the end of summer was $2,500 per 1,000 cubic metres, up 2.6 times compared to the beginning of June. 

Experts, however, warned Europe should not depend on Chinese companies to make up for its gas shortage as their stock is limited. Apart from supply being tight, Chinese firms also have to grapple with the lack of infrastructure such as storage tanks and LNG ships.

Big oil spending more on climate-positive PR than actual low-carbon investments: Study

Big oil and gas companies are spending hundreds of millions on climate-positive messaging, while they continue engaging with lobbying activities and investments to lock our future in fossil fuels, a new study found. A detailed analysis of company disclosures and public messaging by climate think-tank InfluenceMap focused on public communications in North America and Europe, and found that 60% of the public messages from BP, Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and TotalEnergies contain ‘green’ claims, while 23% promote oil and gas. However, these companies are set to spend a relatively small fraction (12% on average) of their capital expenditure (CAPEX) budgets on ‘low-carbon’ investments this year, according to the study. 

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