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business Friday 14 January 2022
How Europe is trying to deal with its gas crisis

By DAVID McHUGH uid natural gas that comes to offer 100% of the price
AP Business Writer by ship. Europe's associa- as compensation, analysts
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) tion of pipeline operators at data firm Energy Intelli-
— Europe's natural gas cri- says cold weather would gence said.
sis isn't letting up. Reserves mean needing to import "I wouldn't say that LNG
are low. Prices are high. Util- 5% to 10% more gas than is 100% enough, but it will
ity customers are facing ex- the maximum volumes ob- play a very important role"
pensive bills. Major Russian served in recent years to in Europe's energy solution,
supplier Gazprom isn't sell- avoid the risk of shutoffs. said Xi Nan, head of liquid
ing gas like it used to. AS A RESULT, GAS PRICES natural gas markets at Rys-
It all raises the question: HAVE SOARED: The bench- tad.
How exactly is Europe, mark price in Europe is RUSSIA HASN'T SENT AS
which imports most of its around 80 euros per mega- MUCH GAS: State-owned
energy, going to make it watt hour, more than four Gazprom has sold less
through the winter without times its level of 19 euros short-term gas and hasn't
a gas disaster, especially if at the start of 2021 and filled as much of its Euro- Associated Press
the season turns out to be up from as low as 4 euros pean storage as it normally
colder or longer than usu- in 2020. Prices have eased does, but Russian officials the company and other sian flows being as low as
al? from as much as nine times emphasize that that the suppliers for an explana- they are," said James Huck-
Here's how the European their level at the start of last company has met its sup- tion. Competition Commis- stepp, manager for Europe,
Union, home to 447 million year. That price shock is ply obligations under long- sioner Margrethe Vestager Middle East and Africa gas
people, will try to deal with hitting utility bills, alarming term contracts. described Gazprom's at- analytics at S&P Global
the crisis: consumers and politicians. Analysts believe Russia may titude as a "quite rare be- Platts. "I wouldn't say crisis
THE PROBLEM IS LOW STOR- EUROPE IS RELYING ON be underlining its desire havior in a marketplace." averted yet, because there
AGE LEVELS: Utilities turn to HIGH PRICES ATTRACTING for Europe to approve the A MILD WINTER IS KEY: is still risk of low tempera-
gas stored in underground MORE SUPPLY: Analysts at Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Weather in Europe and Asia tures, and there is very little
caverns to handle sudden Rystad Energy used ship- Germany that bypasses has so far been relatively storage buffer."
additional demand for gas tracking data last month to Poland and Ukraine. There mild, more liquid gas is on IN THE SHORT TERM: Europe-
for heating or electricity. watch 11 tankers bringing also are increased tensions the way, and high prices an governments are offer-
Europe started 2021 with liquid natural gas, or LNG, over Russian troop deploy- have forced industries to ing cash subsidies to con-
gas storage only 56% full, to Asia make U-turns in the ments near the Ukraine use less by cutting back sumers to soften the blow.
compared with 73% a year middle of the ocean to border. on production. Meanwhile, Sweden became the latest
earlier. The reasons vary: take advantage of lucra- The EU's antitrust chief said Norway, among Europe's Wednesday by announc-
cold weather last winter, tive sales in Europe. With Thursday that Gazprom's suppliers, has stepped up ing 6 billion kronor ($661
lack of Russian deliveries prices so high, traders were limitations on supplies is with more pipeline gas. million) to help households
on the spot market and ro- tempted to divert cargoes "thought provoking" amid "It means we can get most affected by higher
bust demand in Asia for liq- to Europe even if they had the surge in prices, asking through this winter with Rus- electric prices. q

After wave of cancellations, Delta sees recovery in 2022

By DAVID KOENIG travel during January and COVID-19. On a single day $108 million for special plaining on NPR that "we
AP Airlines Writer probably the first part of at Newark, nearly a third profit-sharing payments of started to see challenges
Delta Air Lines lost $408 February," Bastian said in of United's staff called out $1,250 for each current em- with ... airline flights and
million in the final quarter an interview. "It's always the sick and the airline has cut ployee. other areas."
of 2021, dragged down weakest part of the year, back on scheduled flights The thank-you payment Delta's fourth-quarter loss
by a COVID-19 surge that and it's going to be that systemwide. to employees comes as compared with a profit
rocked the airline in De- much weaker because of Both airlines have about a new skirmish breaks out of $1.1 billion in the same
cember, and the carrier omicron. We need confi- 74,000 workers. between largely non-union quarter before the pan-
predicted Thursday that it dence in travel returning Delta expects to lose mon- Delta and the nation's larg- demic.
will suffer one more quar- once the virus recedes." ey in January and February est union of flight atten- Excluding losses on some
terly loss before travel perks Delta expects omicron in- and for the first quarter as a dants. The union accuses investments and profit-shar-
up in spring and summer. fections to peak over the whole. Revenue this quar- Delta of pressuring employ- ing, Delta earned $170 mil-
CEO Ed Bastian said 8,000 next few days and then ter will likely be 72% to 74% ees to return to work too lion, or 22 cents per share.
employees have contract- decline rapidly as it has in of pre-pandemic levels, soon after contracting the That easily topped per-
ed COVID-19 over the last South Africa and — more Delta said, about the same virus. share projections on Wall
four weeks. Sick workers slowly — in the United King- as the fourth quarter. Costs Delta lobbied the U.S. Cen- Street of 14 cents, accord-
and winter storms have led dom. other than fuel will jump ters for Disease Control and ing to a FactSet survey.
to more than 2,200 can- Omicron has halted a about 15% from 2019, and Prevention last month to Revenue was $9.47 billion,
celled flights since Dec. 24. long, slow rise in travel and jet fuel is getting pricier too. reduce the recommended down 17% from $11.44 bil-
Cancellations have thrown it into reverse. So However, the Atlanta com- quarantine period from 10 lion in the fourth quarter of
dropped sharply in the past far in January, the number pany expects to return to days to 5 days for vaccinat- 2019, but well above the
few days, but the spate of of people flying in the U.S. profitability in March — ed people who contract $9.02 billion predicted by
spiked flights cost the airline is down 20% from same when spring break could the virus, with Bastian and industry analysts.
$75 million and the latest month in 2019 — worse help fill planes, especially if other Delta officials saying Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc.
outbreak, caused by the than the 16% declines in coronavirus infections are that the 10-day standard jumped almost 5% at the
omicron variant of the vi- November and December. falling. may significantly impact opening bell Thursday. All
rus, is expected to push the Earlier this week, United Several thousand hires our workforce and opera- other major U.S. airlines rose
industry's recovery back by Airlines CEO Scott Kirby are likely this year as Delta tions." strongly as did most of the
two months. sent a letter to employees bounces back from the The CDC made the travel industry with booking
"I don't think we're going to saying that 3,000 employ- pandemic, Bastian said. change, with its director, sites, hotels and cruise lines
see a pickup in bookings or ees had tested positive for The company set aside Rochelle Walensky, ex- moving higher.q