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Russia’s President Vladimir Putin threatened on Thursday to halt contracts supplying Europe with a third of its gas unless they are paid in roubles, his strongest economic riposte so far to crushing Western sanctions over his invasion of Ukraine....But Moscow did offer a mechanism for buyers to obtain roubles by sending foreign currency to a Russian bank....They must open rouble accounts in Russian banks. It is from these accounts that payments will be made for gas delivered starting from tomorrow,” he said on Thursday, adding that Europe had until now been getting some gas for free because it was paying...

TROSTYANETS/LVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) – Russia’s President Vladimir Putin threatened on Thursday to halt contracts supplying Europe with a third of its gas unless they are paid in roubles, his strongest economic riposte so far to crushing Western sanctions over his invasion of Ukraine. The continent’s biggest recipient of Russian gas, Germany, called the ultimatum for Friday “blackmail”. But Moscow did offer a mechanism for buyers to obtain roubles by sending foreign currency to a Russian bank. The energy showdown has huge ramifications. Europe wants to wean itself off Russian energy but that risks further inflating soaring fuel prices. Russia has...

I guess Putin is serious this time, this article was published earlier today

The Group of Seven major economies have agreed to reject Moscow’s demand to pay for Russian natural gas exports in rubles, the German energy minister said Monday. Robert Habeck told reporters that “all G-7 ministers agreed completely that this (would be) a one-sided and clear breach of the existing contracts.”

Fears of sanctions related to Putin's war on Ukraine drove the decision to end the project.

The European Union on Tuesday presented a new plan to reduce its dependency on Russian energy, amid Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, sky-high prices and a potential embargo of Russian crude. The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, wants to cease its buying of fossil fuels from Russia before 2030. And it has now presented a new pledge to reduce its purchases of Russian gas by two-thirds before the end of the year.

“Soaring fertilizer prices are likely to spike food prices,” Riensche told host Tucker Carlson. “If you’re upset that gas is up a dollar or two a gallon, wait until your grocery bill is up $1000 a month. And it may not manifest itself in terms of price, it could be quantity as well. Empty shelf syndrome may just be starting.” “I’m sorry, I just wanted to make sure I heard you correctly. Up $1000 a month?” an incredulous Carlson asked. “Sure,” Riensche replied. “The price of growing my crops, or the major crops, corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, cotton are up...

The U.S. is pulling support for Israeli underground natural gas pipeline that would run from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe. Many predict this will cause more problems in the region. Moreover, this decision from Biden administration undercuts Israel, one of America’s most steadfast allies. The proposed pipeline would give Europe an alternative to heavy dependence on Russian gas. It would have conveyed about 10 billion cubic yards of Israeli and Cypriot natural gas to Europe via Greece and Italy each year. Recently, Europe has been suffering from an energy crisis, which has led to soaring natural gas and electricity prices....

The United States is now the world's leading exporter of liquified natural gas as Europe's energy crisis and shortages in China send demand for American shipments soaring. LNG exports from the United States topped 7 million tonnes (7.7 million tons) in December, according to ship-tracking data from ICIS LNG Edge, narrowly edging out rival producers Qatar and Australia for the first time. The United States only shipped its first LNG cargo from the lower 48 states in 2016, and has risen to become the world's top exporter in just six years as a shale gas revolution boosted domestic production and...

MOSCOW, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday the Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline would help to calm a surge in European gas prices and was ready to start exports now a second stretch of the pipeline has been filled. Nord Stream 2, completed in September but awaiting regulatory approval from Germany and the European Union, faces resistance from the United States and several countries including Poland and Ukraine, which say it will increase Russia's leverage over Europe. "I'd like to congratulate Gazprom and your partners in Nord Stream 2 on the completion of work...

Within hours of taking office, resident Biden made the supposed “climate crisis” his central focus and elimination of fossil fuels his primary “solution.” To show he meant it, Biden undertook several radical measures right off the bat. First, he canceled the Keystone XL pipeline; then revoked leases and permits in Alaska and offshore areas; then he slowed or blocked leasing, drilling and fracking projects and pressured banks not to lend money to fossil fuel projects. His pick for Comptroller of the Currency (since withdrawn) wanted to nationalize our banking system, control energy and food prices, and bankrupt the petroleum industry....

No way in hell you are going to put a wok on an electric stove.”That was Steven Lee, a San Francisco official and restaurant investor, as quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle last year after the city’s Board of Supervisors voted to outlaw natural gas in new buildings.Nevertheless, they persisted. Per the Sierra Club, the quickening campaign to phase out natural gas recently notched its 50th city-level win in California alone. (Take a bow, Encinitas!) No. 50, as with some others, has “situational exemptions” for restaurants and the like, but the overall push to compel an all-electric design for homes...

Record-high natural gas prices are prompting more utilities to switch from gas to oil derivatives, fanning the flames of an already strong oil price rally. Yet, another report, also by Reuters, said that other analysts expected a lot of gas-to-oil switching this winter, which would drive oil prices higher and drive some UK energy suppliers out of business. "This has never happened before at such a global scale. The market has always tried to substitute from costly oil to much cheaper natural gas," Reuters quoted a SEB commodity analyst as saying. Now the tables have turned, and both commodities are...

Britain this winter might perform an interesting if discomfiting experiment to find out how deep is its people’s practical commitment to the environment. My guess is that it is not terribly deep. There is much talk of a coming energy crisis if the winter is severe. A possibility exists that the lights will go out, factories will close, and hot water and central heating will be lacking. A population unused to such hardships may express its discontent by means not wholly peaceful or constitutional. Of course, the crisis might not come: the weather might be clement, and the country might...

London (CNN Business)UK supermarkets could face shortages of meat and other fresh food within weeks after soaring gas prices prompted a major US fertilizer manufacturer to suspend production, turning off most of Britain's supply of carbon dioxide to the food and drink industry in the process. Illinois-based CF Industries (CF) said last week that it would halt operations indefinitely at its two UK plants because of the high price of natural gas. Underscoring the pressure on the industry, another European fertilizer producer, Norway's Yara (YARIY), said Friday that it was cutting its production of ammonia in Europe by around 40%...

Energy prices are soaring in Europe, and the effects are rippling across the Atlantic. Blame anti-carbon policies of the kind that the Biden Administration wants to impose in the U.S. Electricity prices in the U.K. this week jumped to a record £354 ($490) per megawatt hour, a 700% increase from the 2010 to 2020 average. Germany’s electricity benchmark has doubled this year. Last month’s 12.3% increase was the largest since 1974 and contributed to the highest inflation reading since 1993. Other economies are experiencing similar spikes. Europe’s anti-carbon policies have created a fossil-fuel shortage. Governments have heavily subsidized renewables like...

Natural gas and electricity markets were already surging in Europe when a fresh catalyst emerged: The wind in the stormy North Sea stopped blowing. The sudden slowdown in wind-driven electricity production off the coast of the U.K. in recent weeks whipsawed through regional energy markets. Gas and coal-fired electricity plants were called in to make up the shortfall from wind. Natural-gas prices, already boosted by the pandemic recovery and a lack of fuel in storage caverns and tanks, hit all-time highs. Thermal coal, long shunned for its carbon emissions, has emerged from a long price slump as utilities are forced...

Trouble is brewing on the European gas market. In the wake of a long, cold winter, natural gas reservoirs are unusually low and should, in principle, be refilled very quickly. Russia’s state-owned corporation Gazprom could increase supplies. The market leader, however, has not done that, despite prices recently reaching a 13-year high. In turn, there is growing concern across Europe that there may be insufficient gas supplies for the upcoming winter. Gazprom has not booked any additional gas transit through Ukraine in July, although deliveries of Russian natural gas to the EU will drop by more than 2 billion cubic...

A Louisiana federal judge issued an order lifting President Biden’s moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal land Tuesday, ruling that the White House did not give any “rational explanation” for implementing the pause. US District Judge Terry Doughty sided with 13 states in granting a preliminary injunction that applies nationwide. The states challenging the moratorium were Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry hailed Doughty’s ruling as “a victory not only for the rule of law, but also for the thousands of workers who...

Unlike Trump’s alleged collusion with Russia, Russia, Russia… Biden’s is not imaginary but very real and in your face. Democrats could never say what exactly Trump did, what precise decision was made, or what policy was changed. He “colluded,” don’t ya know. With Biden, we can start with the Colonial Pipeline hack by Russian conspirators and Biden’s non-reaction to it, Biden’s approval of a pipeline designed to make our NATO allies dependent on energy from Moscow, and, of course, his day-one cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline. Trump promised Europe a share in our energy independence including building liquefied natural...