Free Republic

Shipping companies have snapped up dozens of secondhand oil tankers this year, paying record prices for ice-class ships that can navigate frozen seas around Russia’s Baltic ports in winter. A driving force behind the purchases, say people familiar with the deals: To get Russian oil to market after the harshest sanctions to date strike Russia’s energy industry next week. The frenzy in a quiet corner of the shipping market is splitting the tanker industry in two. One part deals with Western oil companies, banks and insurers. The other, known informally in the industry as the “shadow fleet,” doesn’t, allowing it...

Upcoming sanctions on Russian oil are set to be “really disruptive” for energy markets if European nations fail to set a cap on prices, analysts warned.The 27 countries of the European Union agreed in June to ban the purchase of Russian crude oil from Dec. 5. In practical terms, the EU — together with the United States, Japan, Canada and the U.K. — want to drastically cut Russia’s oil revenues in a bid to drain the Kremlin’s war chest following its invasion of Ukraine.However, concerns that a complete ban would send crude prices soaring led the G-7 to consider setting...

Heating oil suppliers in the Northeast and New England have begun rationing the key fuel ahead of winter, after stockpiles dropped to a third of their normal levels. Concerns are rising that supply shortages and soaring prices will leave families in the cold this winter... This year, New England's inventories of stockpiled heating oil are about 70 percent lower than their average level since 1993... Supplies are lower this year due to the same factors impacting world oil markets, including the failure to rebuild production capacity following the pandemic, and disruptions from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The rationing measures, intended...

Heating oil, which is chemically similar to diesel, is primarily used in New York, Pennsylvania and New England, where most distribution is handled by small, family-owned businesses. This year, New England's inventories of stockpiled heating oil are about 70 percent lower than their average level since 1993, government data show. Supplies are lower this year due to the same factors impacting world oil markets, including the failure to rebuild production capacity following the pandemic, and disruptions from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

As Maine retail heating oil prices surge to $5.43 per gallon and some market analysts predict rationing, Maine’s oil dealers say Gov. Janet Mills could ease pressure on Maine families this winter by issuing a waiver to allow them to import and sell non-low sulphur products, which have been banned in Maine since July 2018.

Heating oil stockpiles are at a third of normal levels for this time of year, causing suppliers to begin rationing in New York and New England, the Daily Mail reports. The northeast heavily relies on heating oil, which is similar to diesel fuel, for home heating, leading to fears of shortages as winter approaches. Ninety percent of the country heats with other methods. Heating oil wholesalers have started limiting allocations to retail suppliers in the area, Chris Herb, president of the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association, told Bloomberg News.

Two of the biggest refiners in India have stopped looking for spot Russian crude oil supply set to arrive after December 5, the day on which the EU embargo on Russian oil shipments enters into force, sources familiar with the Indian firms’ procurement plans told Bloomberg on Tuesday. The two refiners are Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), according to the sources. India, the world’s third-largest crude oil importer, has been importing large volumes of Russian oil after the Russian invasion of Ukraine due to the cheap supply with hefty discounts on the Russian grades compared to...

WARSAW (Reuters) – Germany said on Wednesday it was receiving less oil but still had enough supplies after Poland found a leak in the Druzhba pipeline that takes crude from Russia to Europe, which Warsaw said may have resulted from an accident rather than sabotage…. …Drone footage showed a black slick of oil from the underground pipeline spreading across farmland at the spill site, surrounded by fire engines and other emergency teams. “The security of supplies in Germany is currently guaranteed,” an Economy Ministry spokesman told Reuters. He added that “the refineries in Schwedt and Leona are still receiving crude...

Europe's largest economy is sending recession signals. Germany's key future indicator, the IFO survey of business confidence, pointed down for the fourth month in a row as high inflation fed by astronomical natural gas prices undermines consumer pricing power and imposes heavy costs on businesses. ... High energy and commodity prices are weighing on demand and putting pressure on profit margins, said Carsten Brzeski, chief eurozone economist at ING bank. Companies can no longer pass through higher costs to consumers as easily as in the first months of the year. Company order books are shrinking, while businesses that use a...

Sir Isaac Newton vs. the EC There are plenty of formal peer-reviewed industry papers and articles published in specialized international oil & gas journals regarding theoretical “huge volumes” of supposed European nat-gas “reserves”. Supposedly, such reserves would “solve” the absolutely unnecessary self-inflicted European nat-gas crisis. Furthermore, there are lots of curious back-of-the-envelope ´calculations´ plus added blah blah blah with the very same prognosis in mind. And even some European Commission members are on record describing a highly optimistic outlook on how long ( months ! ) would Europe´s natural gas reserves ´easily´ last after Russia stops delivering its traditional and...

... The stand-off with Russia has forced countries like Germany to find supplies elsewhere, and its stores have increased from less than half full in June to 84% full today. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told journalists Germany would get through the winter, adding that Russia was "no longer a reliable energy partner". He said the government would make one-off payments to pensioners, people on benefits and students. There would also be caps on energy bills. Some 9,000 energy-intensive businesses would receive tax breaks to the tune of €1.7bn. A windfall tax on energy company profits would also be used to...

India shipped in 877,400 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Russia in July, a drop of around 7.3 percent from June, while India’s oil imports from Saudi Arabia increased to 824,700 bpd in the month, a rise of 25.6 percent from June. This was the highest oil take by India from Saudi Arabia for three months, according to industry data, and the figures also marked the first fall in India’s crude oil imports from Russia since March.

Those taking the German government to task over the ongoing gas crisis have been branded the “new enemies of the state” by one government minister in the country. An ostensibly “centrist” minister in Germany has branded those looking to hold officials accountable for their chronic mismanagement of the country as the “new enemies of the state”. The minister — who is a member of former chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party — made the claim as authorities in the country begin to fear significant backlash for gas shortages in the winter, with one official saying that he is...

Germany could be forced to scrap Oktoberfest celebrations and its famous Christmas markets as officials desperately search for ways to save energy after Russia began throttling gas supplies to Europe. Hanover yesterday became the first major city on the continent to announce it will turn off all hot water in public buildings to conserve energy, while Berlin has begun dimming streetlights and Augsburg has turned off public water fountains.

Germany’s economy hasn’t grown for nearly five years. Its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic has been weaker than any major advanced economy. Its ability to fill its energy needs is in question. And now the country once known as the economic engine of Europe is teetering on the brink of a recession. It’s a sharp turn of fortunes for Germany’s large manufacturing sector, which flourished over the past two decades just as other Western nations saw industrial jobs migrate to Asia. Germany’s big and long-successful bet on manufacturing relied on four engines: Free and open global trade, surging demand from...

Asian nations are letting up on discounted Russian oil exports, with Bloomberg data showing a 13% decline over the past four weeks as Chinese and Indian demand ease, chipping away at Russian oil revenues. China and India account for purchases of 55% of Russia’s seaborne oil exports; however, Chinese demand over the past four weeks has dropped by 52,000 barrels per day, while Indian demand has eased by 18%, according to Bloomberg. Reuters also reports that Chinese state-run Sinopec–the biggest refiner in Asia–reduced purchases of discounted Russian ESPO crude oil this month after refusing to outbid Indian buyers. Citing trading...

Germany's leading energy expert says she's living in a nightmare. What's worse, she saw it coming. Germany had vowed to ditch coal but is now restarting mothballed, coal-fired power stations For 15 years Claudia Kemfert says she tried to warn politicians and the public that the country was too reliant on Russian energy. Until recently Germany bought more than half of its gas from Russia. She advised Berlin to find other sources and focus more on renewables. And she warned against the construction of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline through which Germany receives much of its gas. "That's what I...

If ever there were a situation that would seem to parallel the old saying that something is like sending “coal to Newcastle” – meaning doing something that is pointless – it would be sending oil to Saudi Arabia. Yet, there is a reason that the number two oil producer in the world is importing significant and increasing amounts of oil from Russia. And it illustrates the pointlessness and counterproductivity of the sanctions on Russian oil sales spearheaded by the Biden administration that have helped send the price of crude oil soaring. Oil is sold on a global market. Restricting sales...

Russian President Vladimir Putin can afford to cut off natural-gas exports to Europe thanks to ample revenues from other commodities, but such a move would come with longer-term risks for Russia’s sanctions-stricken economy and its prolific energy industry. Earlier this week, Moscow resumed gas supplies via the Nord Stream pipeline after annual maintenance ended, easing worries in Europe that Mr. Putin would further crimp exports at a time when the continent is filling up its storage ahead of winter. The restarted pipeline, however, is pumping at just 40% capacity, after a separate, still-unresolved technical issue that Moscow blames on Western...

Today I am risking being too glib, but my excuse is aspiring to meet the Einstein standard, “Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.” It’s not hard to see that as rough as economic conditions are now, they are set to get worse. And it’s not hard to see that despite the considerable blowback from the sanctions against Russia, the West is not going to relent. Here’s a simple baseline forecast. Russia wins in Ukraine. The West may try to define it somehow as not a victory, but it’s hard to see how Russia does not take the...