Free Republic

The EU must implement its trade deal with the US without amendments or risk losing “favourable” access to liquefied natural gas shipments from American exporters, Donald Trump’s ambassador to the bloc has warned. EU ratification of last year’s agreement between the US president and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has been delayed by several issues, including Trump’s threats to invade Greenland.

Major disruptions in Qatar (15% of global LNG) and Australia have triggered a severe natural gas shortage, far worse than the oil shock. Gas prices have spiked sharply (Asia +143%, Europe +85%), with physical availability becoming a bigger issue than pricing. Countries are reverting to coal, Europe faces energy security risks, and rising gas costs could drive fertilizer shortages and food inflation.

Damage to a critical Qatari facility is threatening to keep energy prices high around the world even if the war in Iran ends soon in what some analysts are calling an “Armageddon” situation. Qatar’s Las Raffan plant supplies a fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas, which is used for electricity, heating and cooking – but Iranian strikes have damaged the facility, worsening what is already the largest-ever energy supply disruption. “I woke up this morning and thought, ‘No, please no,’” Anne-Sophie Corbeau, former head of gas analysis at BP now at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, told...

There is little good to be said about war, even when the fight is one of good vs. evil. Lives lost, property, cities and infrastructures destroyed, and billions of dollars spent are among the tragic outcomes of war. Even when freedom and democracy ultimately triumph over tyranny and oppression, the cost of war is high for everyone involved. For Americans, one positive aspect of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is the strong position in which Americans find themselves in regard to our energy independence. While gas pump prices are predictably seeing some spikes, the strong U.S. position in regard to...

The latest attacks by Iran on Qatar facilities have damaged infrastructure that accounts for 17% of QatarEnergy’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capability, Reuters reports. The attacks will also cut helium output by 14%, said QatarEnergy. QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi told the news agency today, “I never in my wildest ‌dreams ⁠would have thought that Qatar would be, Qatar and the region, in such an ⁠attack, especially from a brotherly Muslim country in the month of ⁠Ramadan, attacking us in this way.” That cut in production capability equates to an estimated $20bn in lost revenues each year, including the value...

Iranian attacks have knocked out 17% of Qatar’s liquefied natural ⁠gas export capacity, causing an estimated $20 billion in lost annual revenue and threatening supplies to Europe ​and Asia, QatarEnergy’s CEO told ​Reuters on Thursday. Saad ​al-Kaabi said two of Qatar’s 14 LNG trains and one of its two gas-to-liquids (GTL) facilities were damaged in the unprecedented strikes. The repairs will sideline 12.8 ⁠million tons ‌per year of LNG for three to ⁠five years, he said. “I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that Qatar would be - Qatar and the region - in such an attack, especially...

CAIRO (AP) — A Russian-flagged tanker carrying liquefied natural gas exploded and erupted in flames before sinking in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya, authorities in the North African country said Wednesday. No casualties were reported.The tanker was under Western sanctions, suspected to be part of Russia’s shadow fleet of energy tankers trying to bypass sanctions imposed on Moscow over its war in Ukraine. The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear. According to the Libyan Maritime Authority, there was a “sudden explosions, followed by a massive fire” on the Arctic Metagaz on Tuesday while the LNG...

The EU has strengthened its energy security by cutting gas demand by over 20% between 2021 and 2024 and curbing gas imports from Russia. However, this progress masks a new vulnerability for the EU: Incentivising imports of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) has created a potentially high-risk new geopolitical dependency. Following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU has gradually reduced its reliance on Russian gas. The bloc’s imports of Russian gas (including pipeline gas and LNG) fell by 75% between 2021 and 2025. Despite this shift, Russia remains one of the EU’s largest gas suppliers. The EU...

Oct 27, 2005 Russia has quietly worked to forge a quasi-alliance of that to rival the US-led NATO, between current and future nuclear powers of Pakistan, China and Iran. This alignment is specifically geared toward confronting the US in a hotly contested market for geopolitical status in the middle east and to dictate economic trends concerning natural resources in the region. Decision by the IAEA to refer Iran to the UN Security Council has also put Russia in a difficult position between choosing its long-term economic ties with the EU and US or short-term ones with Iran. As the world...

A drone struck a Turkish-flagged tanker and set it ablaze on Monday in southern Ukraine’s Odesa region, officials said, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a deal to import U.S. liquefied natural gas through the area. The MT Orinda was hit during the offloading of liquefied petroleum gas at Izmail port, Turkey’s Directorate for Maritime Affairs said. All 16 crew on board evacuated and no one was hurt, it said. Russia has used drones, missiles and artillery to repeatedly batter the Odesa region, especially its Black Sea ports... Ukrainian officials didn’t comment specifically on the tanker, although regional...

Russia’s gas giant Gazprom on Tuesday signed an agreement with China’s state energy firm CNPC to build a second huge natural gas pipeline from Russia to China, Gazprom’s CEO Alexey Miller said. Russia bets on selling increased volumes of energy products to China after losing Europe as a key oil and gas export market following Putin’s war in Ukraine. Gazprom and CNPC signed today a “legally binding memorandum” on the construction of the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline from Russia to China via Mongolia, Russian media quoted Miller as telling reporters in Beijing. Power of Siberia 2 has been...

BP's decision to abandon its stake in oil giant Rosneft is the first high-profile example of the self-sanctioning by companies of their business links to Russia, a process likely to have major short- and long-term implications for energy markets. BP's dramatic exit of its 19.75% share of Rosneft could cost the London-listed oil major as much as $25 billion, a hefty price to pay in order to be seen to be doing the right thing in response to Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine. "I have been deeply shocked and saddened by the situation unfolding in Ukraine and my heart goes...

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has approved a final authorization for LNG exports to non-free trade agreement countries from Port Arthur LNG Phase II in Jefferson County, Texas. The authorization represents the first LNG export approval under President Trump’s administration, signaling a shift from the previous administration’s pause on such permits. The project, owned by Sempra Energy, will have the capacity to export 1.91 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas. This expansion complements Port Arthur Phase I, which is currently under construction with exports expected to begin in 2027. Sempra’s LNG portfolio includes the operational Cameron...

A West Australian energy company is building a liquified natural gas (LNG) production and export terminal in Louisiana to expand the U.S. liquified natural gas export market. Perth, Australia-based Woodside Energy on Tuesday announced its plan to develop a three-train, 16.5 million ton per annum (Mtpa) liquefied natural gas production and export terminal in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, called Louisiana LNG. Gov. Jeff Landry said the company's and a New York company decisions to invest $17.5 billion in the project was because of President Donald Trump’s “commitment to unleash American Energy.” The Biden administration sought to ban new exports of LNG...

We now have more information on the corruption involved in the pause in LNG exports. Joe Biden approved the pause but didn’t know he did. When questioned by Speaker Johnson, Biden said he wouldn’t do that. During the Houthi attacks and the Ukraine crisis, Biden paused all LNG shipments to Europe. He halted the approval process for export licenses and facilities being built/planned to save the climate. A Louisiana judge granted a stay. It turns out that Secretary Granholm, a wholly unprincipled agent for the hard left, buried a report with data and conclusions refuting the premise they used to...

Russian and Chinese interests don’t align on this particular issue and the dynamics associated with it...Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that “Russia Is Wooing Arctic Gas Buyers With Life After US Sanctions”. They cited unnamed sources to report that Novatek, the company behind the Arctic LNG 2 megaproject, is courting American, European, and even Indian buyers ahead of Trump possibly curtailing or lifting sanctions on their initiative as part of the nascent Russian-US “New Détente”. According to them, a senior executive pitched this as “a way to counter a rising China”, which has a certain logic to it.From those three potential...

The Trump administration is wasting no time reversing President Joe Biden's disastrous energy policies and is already opening up new lanes of production less than two months after being sworn into office. Last week Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright traveled to Louisiana to announce new liquified natural gas exports are back in business. Bergum and Wright were hosted by Venture Global, which committed to $18 billion in new energy investments. "Venture Global announced plans for a brownfield expansion at its Plaquemines LNG facility south of New Orleans, Louisiana. Joining Venture Global for the announcement was Secretary...

The Biden presidency might have been the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the American people. A shocking investigation by the Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project has revealed that virtually every document bearing Joe Biden's signature during his presidency was signed by an autopen — except for one. What makes this revelation particularly damning is that the only document confirmed to have Biden's actual signature was his letter announcing his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race. Let that sink in for a moment. Remember when House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) revealed his discussion with Biden when Biden couldn't recall signing the...

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Since his election, President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed support for a major natural gas pipeline in Alaska — comments that have drawn fresh attention to a project that’s floundered for years despite support from state leaders. Trump mentioned the pipeline at a news conference with Japan’s prime minister earlier this month, drawing praise from Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy and U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, both Republicans. As proposed, the nearly 810-mile (1,300-kilometer) pipeline would funnel gas from Alaska’s vast North Slope to port, with an eye largely on exports to Asian countries. Critics, however, see this...

European Union officials are considering the potential introduction of a cap on natural gas prices as part of discussions on a clean industrial deal policy to boost Europe’s industry.Europe is losing competitiveness due to the European gas prices which are up to four times higher than those in the United States.A cap on prices is being discussed at the European Commission ahead of next month’s release of the so-called Clean Industrial Deal or the related Action Plan on Affordable Energy Prices, sources familiar with the talks have told the Financial Times.The EU currently has a cap on gas prices, the...