Free Republic

European natural gas inventories rose by +96 BCF over past 7 days. EU nat gas storage 68% full. Current inventories at 2589 BCF. 23.9% higher than 1 year ago. EU goal is at least 80% full by Nov 1st for winter.

It was apparent months ago that the Kremlin’s intensive focus on Donbas risked creating vulnerabilities elsewhere. At the peak of the fighting in Donbas in early July, three-quarters of the Russian army’s roughly 110 front-line battalions in Ukraine were in Donbas. Just a handful of battalions defended Russian gains in and around Kherson. The Ukrainian army also concentrated its best forces in Donbas, of course—but not at the expense of the southern front. In late May, Ukrainian troops began pushing south toward Kherson, then 40 or so miles from the line of contact. Two months later, Kyiv’s southern counteroffensive has...

Even though the Battle of Donbas is far from over, Ukraine is expected to open the next chapter of the war sometime in the near future — a highly anticipated, major counter-offensive operation in the south, particularly to liberate the Russian-occupied city of Kherson. Kyiv has declared its intentions to liberate the only regional capital captured by Russia following the Feb. 24 full-scale invasion. Experts across the world agree that retaking Kherson is the most feasible way for Ukraine to score a major victory over Russia and turn the tide of the war. As part of a counter-offensive operation, Ukraine...

The leaders of Greece and Bulgaria on Friday marked the completion of a new pipeline that will supply natural gas from Azerbaijan to Bulgaria, whose vital supply of Russian gas was cut off in April amid the fallout over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed the importance of the new link as an alternative supply line for Bulgaria, as neighboring Greece jockeys to become a regional energy transport hub. Greece is also building a liquefied natural gas terminal off the northeastern port of Alexandroupolis, near Komotini, which Mitsotakis said would in the future provide additional gas...

European natural gas inventories rose by +84 BCF over past 7 days. EU nat gas storage 63% full. Current inventories at 2396 BCF. 22.8% higher than 1 year ago. EU goal is at least 80% full by Nov 1st for winter.

For the first time ever, the European Union has imported in June more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States than gas via pipeline from Russia, as Moscow slashed supply to Europe earlier this month, Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said on Thursday. “The drop in Russian supply calls for efforts to reduce EU demand to prepare for a tough winter,” the head of the Paris-based agency added. In April 2022 alone, five European countries—France, Spain, the UK, the Netherlands, and Poland—accounted for 54.1% of total U.S. LNG exports, data from the U.S. Energy...

Iraq has entered the market for liquefied natural gas, with its first shipment ever taking place this week. In a statement, the Iraqi Oil Ministry said that the first shipment was an achievement and quoted the managing director of Basra Gas Company, Malcolm Mayes, as saying it was a "historic moment". The international LNG market has heated up in the past few months as Europe, a major importer of gas, seeks to reduce and eventually eliminate its reliance on Russian pipeline gas. LNG has emerged as the most convenient replacement, and the United States as the biggest supplier so far....