Page 10 - EurOil Week 34 2022

EurOil PERFORMANCE EurOil

online from 2025 will boost the country’s LNG forbid any resale of gas.
capacity by over 60%, this wouldn’t be a panacea In 2021, Russia’s total gas exports (both pipe-
for Europe’s gas shortages, as Europe needs gas in lined and LNG) reached 135.5mn tpy – 12.8mn
the short term and there is no new infrastructure tpy of LNG and 122.7mn tpy of pipelined gas.
to boost output coming online before 2025. The first phase of the North Field facility will
The North Field will raise Qatar’s total pro- produce 33.0mn tonnes of LNG each year and
duction capacity from 77mn tonnes per year the second phase will add a further 16.0mn tpy
(tpy) to 126mn tpy (a 64% increase) once all to capacity.
stages are completed in 2027, Capital Econom- The North Field could easily offset the loss of
ics said. Russian LNG to Europe, but it would only cover
What’s more, new facilities currently under just over a third of total Russian gas exports –
construction will raise global LNG supply by and this rests on the assumption that all LNG
25% in the next five years, with the North Field from the North Field is sent to Europe.
contributing a third of this alone. Lastly, the countries most exposed to Russia’s
However, Capital Economics warned that this gas – Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia, have no
is still not enough to compensate for Russian gas, direct access to LNG terminals and would rely
and it would mean that all of Qatar’s new capac- on importers such as Germany buying on the
ity would go to Europe, even though gas-hungry spot market.
Asia is also intending to buy Qatar’s new exports. There is gas to keep Europe’s lights on, but it
Up to 90% of Qatar’s future capacity is already is not easy to find, not yet readily available and
booked up through long-term contracts which carries a large price tag. ™

POLICY

Sturgeon urges energy nationalisation,

price cap freeze

UK SCOTTISH First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has households dealing with high energy bills. Rishi
urged the UK government to consider follow- Sunak, the other contender for PM, has also dis-
Other European ing other European countries in nationalising missed the idea of freezing the cap.
countries have taken energy companies in order to curb the soaring “Cancel the price cap increase, do that first
similar steps. cost of energy for consumers. of all, and then yes, how is that then funding?”
On August 26, UK regulator Ofgem will Sturgeon said. “What is the contribution from
increase the energy cap price from the current energy companies, the UK government, what
GBP1,971 to GBP3,576 ($4,200) per year, energy does it mean in terms of the ownership profile
consultancy Auxilione estimates, forecasting of the energy companies. All of that has to be on
that it could reach GBP6,000 next year. This will the table.”
leave poorer families facing “destitution and dev- Truss and Sunak’s stance on the energy price
astation,” Sturgeon warned, noting that bringing cap appears to have dented their electability.
energy firms under public ownership would help According to Opinium polls, on August 8, 29%
stop a “looming disaster” and therefore must be of all voters said Truss would be the best prime
“on the table.” She called for the cap on energy minister, against 28% who sided with Starmer.
costs to be cancelled. In recent days though, Truss’s support has fallen
“This further increase in people’s energy bills to 23%, while Starmer has garnered 31%. Faced
can’t be allowed to go ahead,” Sturgeon said in an with a choice between Starmer and Sunak, 29%
interview with BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show. “It backed Starmer and 23% Sunak. ™
is making it impossible for people to provide the
basics for themselves and their families, but it is
also continuing to fuel inflation.”
She called on the UK government “to take the
action that only they can take.”
Opposition Labour party leader Keir Starmer
has also called for the cap on energy costs to be
frozen at the current level. But Liz Truss, the
favourite to succeed Boris Johnson as prime
minister of the ruling Conservative Party, has
ruled out doing so, although she has hinted at
providing additional support for businesses and

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 34 26•August•2022