Marthanoir
TB Fanatic
On a totally unrelated note I'm thinking of setting up a pitchfork and flaming torch business, I'm looking for financial backers
Is mostly depleted.Oil and gas aren't that rare, have they ever tried to drill in Europe?
Yes, I see some gas drilling on an island off Netherlands. Where does all the north sea oil go?
One of the things that I have heard, put it in the rumor category (meaning notoriously unreliable) is that there is a plan to "nationalize the electric grid".This one is best read at the link, lots of photos of business owners closing right now, this week because they got their new bills that were insanely large jumps, just like the lady at the Poppy Cafe in Athlone (which is not too far from where I live).
I mean we are talking about the sort of bills for 2 months' of electricity of the sort that same business may have paid in all of last year and more than enough for many, even pubs going for 200 years to close their doors over the last few days. I suspect for many owners it was that or just declaring bankruptcy, the bills possibly being larger than what they took in at the door, much less enough to pay the bills, and cover rent and/or other costs.
A lot of these people can't wait for the "new" Prime Ministers sometime next week to get into office and then start to "explore" the problem, they are done, their businesses are finished or at least on hold if they own the building.
They're talking about diesel hitting ten bucks in fall ...I know it’s not Europe but I saw on Boston news last night that the Northeast home heating oil reserves are down 65 percent. Are we going to be in the same boat?
What I am expecting, is if the current situation continues, the government won't "have" to nationalize the provision of power because like the banks in 2008, they will end up owning them anyway.One of the things that I have heard, put it in the rumor category (meaning notoriously unreliable) is that there is a plan to "nationalize the electric grid".
Which even with the super high prices nearly 10,000.00 over 2 months, will make it worse. The government will recoup their losses in the electric grid by higher taxes. The government doesn't produce anything, to sell, and only receives revenue by taxation.
On another note on how this will work, there is another article at Zerohedge, not related to this, that makes the case that all countries in all of history fleece the flock of their savings through taxes, when the government is in a down hill slide, and on it's way out. They use Louis XVI, as their prime example. Who increased the size and authority of his tax collectors.
As it is the largest "provider" (the old state company and then one that charged the women 10,000 Euro for two months of using an oven and a griddle) is still 90 percent state-owned
there are those that still believe you can vote your way out of thisAnd yet they will vote the same people in. You’d think that the red wave here would be a tidal wave at this point but alas, it’s not.
there are those that still believe you can vote your way out of this
Had you a long post/reply and when they merged the threads it wouldn't post.Also the 2nd largest provider Bord Gais is a semi state owned company.
And that will be the end of it if that comes to pass for any length of time. That puts HHO at about 9.50 around us.They're talking about diesel hitting ten bucks in fall ...
Summerthyme
vote is relative to thinking the same way. The beliefs of the people hasn’t changed. So their vote won’t either.
Had you a long post/reply and when they merged the threads it wouldn't post.
I'm not re writing all that.
Which I originally thought to put it here, but since the article is specific to Ireland, didn't think applied.
you ain't seen nothing.
Wait until they declares an Emergency Intervention in the "Emergency Intervention" Market because they don't have enough money supply in stock to fund existing Emergencies.
Man you a genius. LOLI had a brainfart while eating lunch, easy solution.
Make everybody drive electric cars and that way you'll have all the diesel to run the power stations , I should be an advisor to AOC or sumptin
Man you a genius. LOL
Except of course if you live in CA, a European suburb, where this weekend, Labor Day Weekend, here in the States, a three day weekend, is telling their residents not to recharge their cars cuz like ya know dude, it's going to be hot and they need the electricity to run the AC. So don't go anywhere, on your three day weekend.
In the meantime, it's a continued fleecing of the middle class.
They are grabbing any spare wealth that is floating around.
China’s JOVO Group, a big LNG trader, recently disclosed that it had resold an LNG cargo to a European buyer.
A futures trader in Shanghai told Nikkei that the profit made from such a transaction could be in the tens of millions of dollars or even reach $100mn.
China’s biggest oil refiner Sinopec Group also acknowledged on an earnings call in April that it has been channelling excess LNG into the international market.
Local media have said that Sinopec alone has sold 45 cargoes of LNG, or about 3.15mn tonnes. The total amount of Chinese LNG that has been resold is probably more than 4mn tonnes, equivalent to 7 per cent of Europe’s gas imports in the half year to the end of June.
If Russia ends up exporting more gas to China as a means to punish Europe, China will have more capacity to resell its surplus gas to the spot market — indirectly helping Europe.
The more desperate Europe becomes about its energy supplies, the more China’s policy decisions will have the power to affect the bloc. As Europe attempts to wrestle out of its dependence on Russia for energy, the irony is that it is becoming more dependent on China.
That's one of my favorite movies!That is actually a movie called "Watchmen." It's based on the comic book of the same name. Rorschach is a sort of vigilante who has a profound distaste for crime and communism. His methods for addressing same are somewhat extreme, though, as you've seen from him defending himself in prison. He has something of a tragic past; apparently his mother was a prostitute. This led to him developing a sense of moral absolutism; things are right, or wrong. There are no mitigating circumstances or motivations with him.
He wears a mask made of a kind of heat-sensitive material that actually shifts patterns. That's where the name "Rorschach" comes from; his mask is basically a continually-shifting Rorschach test.
That's one of my favorite movies!
Good observations about the lack of accountability in how big energy treats the end-consumer - illustrates how large corporations can distort markets in ways that are NOT in the individual consumer's best interest, in the end. Big medical and big retail also come to mind, here. (Walmart versus mom and pop, anyone?)A comment on the "free market," as I already tried to explain in a probably overly post - the market for "energy" in Europe is anything but "free."
This is not a case where I can go to the farmer's market and if your tomatoes cost too much I can buy the cheaper peas from another vendor for supper or perhaps they take my turnips as all or part of a trade.
It isn't even though I got to store A to buy a Widget and their price is twice that of the other vender but it would cost me more than the extra to pay the gasoline to travel to store B, so I go ahead and buy from shop A even with a somewhat higher price.
This is a "fantasy" situation where the taxpayers pay for all the original setup and infrastructure that produces, carries, and maintains a power grid; often usually the stations as well. They may be so-called "Public-Private Partnerships, but in reality, most original electrical grids and power stations are set up largely with taxpayer money.
Later, the companies overseeing the direct electricity or gas bills are allowed to "buy up" the right to do this and to "purchase" gas and/or other fuels to keep the electrical grids running and bill customers for their costs of buying the fuel from the big supplies (like BP, Royal Dutch Shell) who have a MONOPOLY on this supply.
This works OK and may even benefit consumers as long as everything goes well, but in situations like the current one where the price of the energy becomes too expensive for the "private providers" to fulfill their contracts they simply "leave the market."
As a consumer I am not facing a "free market" I am facing a dwindling number of "providers" any or all of whom can simply cancel my contract without penalty (at this time) and leave me holding the bag [bag spell checker not bad]. I am then suddenly forced onto the highest rates, at least until I can find another provider who may offer a discount. I suspect within two months there will BE no discounts and within six months unless something changes almost all the "private providers" will be gone.
This isn't a "free market," this is a fake "market" on what is really a monopoly of a very few giant Corporations, who are allowed to charge whatever they wish for their product because they can. The "providers" have no choice but to buy from these sources as "that's all there is my friend," but they can also just stop dancing and flee the disco any time they like.
The consumer ultimately only has the choice of having power or not - which for most people in Northern Europe isn't much of a choice. Very few people can afford to go "off-grid" and have any kind of life, and for many folks in apartments or newer homes, there are no backup options as there are in our 200-plus-year-old home.
OK once again this is already a bit too long but while I am not saying that nationalization is a total answer, governments can screw things up big time and can also refuse to provide proper maintenance and let costs get way out of control - but it is also certain that unless something changes there will be some nationalization of companies (or their bankrupted shells) before this is all over.
All going well will be temporary and the new system have more REAL competition and/or the recognition that the industry IS a Monopoly and be run on the terms that Monopoly businesses are run, also with guaranteed that private companies take on the risks of providing energy to consumers, just not to shareholders. That is likely to require a new system of business law but for vital services that used to be considered public utilities, it may need to happen.
And don't think the United States is immune from this pattern, the government there has also made some pretty stupid decisions in the provision of energy since this Administration came to power.
And yet they will vote the same people in. You’d think that the red wave here would be a tidal wave at this point but alas, it’s not.
there are those that still believe you can vote your way out of this
As our 2020 national (s)elections clearly demonstrated, we cannot forget the overwhelming effect of those "that count the votes" - neutering anything that the individual citizen voter may have wished, in favor of the desires of a hidden group of deep-pockets whose proxies "count the vote."vote is relative to thinking the same way. The beliefs of the people hasn’t changed. So their vote won’t either.
Europe expects the Russians to find another technical reason for shutting down the pipeline . . .what little gas was flowing to Europe, is shut down again,
Fair Use Cited
---------------
Russia Halts Nord Stream Gas Pipeline, Ratcheting Up Pressure on Europe
European nations racing to fill gas storage facilities before onset of winter
By Georgi KantchevFollow
Updated Aug. 31, 2022 9:13 am ET
BERLIN—Russia shut down its main artery for natural gas to Europe for maintenance on Wednesday, in what Western governments see as the latest salvo in the Kremlin’s economic war on the continent.
The halt comes as European nations race to fill gas storage facilities to prevent a shortage in the midst of winter. Shortages would trigger rationing, likely kneecapping industry and tipping the continent’s already struggling economy into a recession.
Moscow has already throttled back deliveries over the Nord Stream pipeline—which links Russia’s prolific Siberian gas fields with Germany under the Baltic Sea—to just 20% of its maximum capacity, citing technical issues with its turbines. European officials have dismissed these explanations and have called the gas cuts an economic attack in retaliation for supporting Ukraine in the war.
On Wednesday, the Kremlin-controlled gas giant Gazprom PJSC said that it had completely halted the Nord Stream pipeline as “scheduled preventive work begins at the gas compressor unit.” The pipeline is due to come back online early on Saturday.
European officials and analysts, however, have questioned whether Gazprom would restart the pipeline as planned. Some expect Moscow to find new technical pretexts to prolong the outage, while others see Gazprom keeping gas flowing at a low level to create uncertainty and manipulate gas prices.
“Gas prices and European sentiment are about to face a major stress test as the Nord Stream pipeline gets shut for maintenance today for three days, and there is growing concern that another reduction in supply or a complete cutoff in flows may follow at the end of the week,” analysts at ING Bank wrote in a report to clients on Wednesday.
Gas prices in Europe, which have traded at record highs in recent weeks, fell on Wednesday, with futures for gas at a trading hub in the Netherlands, the benchmark in northwest Europe, dropping more than 5%.
Gas is a key fuel for the European economy, heating homes and fueling factories such as smelters and fertilizer plants. Soaring prices for electricity have forced some industrial operations in Europe to announce shutdowns in recent weeks, including energy-intensive metal forging operations.
First opened in 2011, the 760-mile-long Nord Stream pipeline has been an important source of gas for Germany, Europe’s largest economy. Before the war, Russia covered over half of Germany’s gas imports, but supply cuts via Nord Stream affect other European customers because Germany exports some of the gas abroad. There are other gas pipelines from Russia to Europe, but Russia has also throttled flows through these in the wake of the war.
Unlike the 10-day annual maintenance in July, the current Nord Stream shut-off caught officials and traders by surprise when it was announced earlier this month. Maintenance operations are usually telegraphed well in advance so that utilities and traders can make alternative arrangements.
While Gazprom restored gas flows following the works in July, it limited supplies just days later, citing technical problems with turbines. The company insists that a key turbine couldn't be sent to Russia after it was maintained in Canada because of international sanctions on Moscow. But Germany, where the turbine was located, said that there are no obstacles and that Moscow was in fact blocking the turbine’s return to Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday said nothing will interfere with gas supplies via Nord Stream “apart from technical problems caused by sanctions.”
Gazprom said on Tuesday that it would suspend gas supplies to French utility Engie SA from Thursday over a contractual dispute. Engie said that it had already secured enough gas volumes to ensure supply and has undertaken measures to mitigate any interruption by Gazprom.
While a complete halt of Nord Stream deliveries would worsen Europe’s energy balance during winter when demand is at its seasonal peak, the European Union has been filling its storage facilities faster than expected.
Germany, which has Europe’s largest gas stores, is close to hitting its 85% gas storage target, initially set for Oct. 1. German officials, however, have warned that reaching the next milestone of 95% by Nov. 1 would be challenging unless companies and households cut consumption.
“We can take gas from the storage in the winter, we are saving gas (and need to keep doing so!),” Klaus Müller, the head of the country’s energy regulator, wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
High gas prices have reduced industrial demand. Increased imports via pipeline from Norway and shipments of liquefied natural gas from the U.S. have put Europe in a stronger position ahead of winter than many analysts forecast when Gazprom first cut supplies through Nord Stream in June. At the same time, there are concerns that supplies from producers besides Russia might not be enough to satisfy European demand later next year.
“Effectively we’ve sacrificed, especially in Germany, industrial consumption over the past month to hit really, really ambitious storage targets,” said Ben McWilliams, an analyst at the Bruegel think tank, adding that the amount of gas in storage makes government-enforced rationing this winter less likely.
For Russia, cutting the supply of gas to Europe isn’t without risk, as the continent has traditionally been Gazprom’s main market and provides a big part of the company’s revenue. Domestic storage, meanwhile, is filling up fast and some gas wells might need to be closed, many of which will be technically difficult to reopen. Russia’s options to reroute the gas flows to Asia or other markets are limited by its traditionally Europe-facing infrastructure.
But despite the limited flows abroad, the company was able to record hefty profits.
“Despite the decline in gas supplies to foreign markets, to markets far abroad, our calculations absolutely clearly show that the financial results of Gazprom, our revenue for 2022, will be significantly higher than in 2021,” Chief Executive Alexei Miller said Wednesday, according to the Russian news agency, TASS.
Russia Halts Nord Stream Gas Pipeline, Ratcheting Up Pressure on Europe
Western governments see the three-day shutdown as the latest salvo in the Kremlin’s economic war on Europe.www.wsj.com
No kidding. If I was Russia, I'd order an immediate stop to any Natural Gas.Europe expects the Russians to find another technical reason for shutting down the pipeline . . .
because . . . it is what I would do, it is what they would do, it is what any rational country would do.
It is surprising that Russia is shipping any energy to Europe.
Does this latest Russian "shut-down" of the pipeline have anything to do with the pipeline "gear" that was awaiting repair in Canada recently?what little gas was flowing to Europe, is shut down again,
Fair Use Cited
---------------
Russia Halts Nord Stream Gas Pipeline, Ratcheting Up Pressure on Europe
European nations racing to fill gas storage facilities before onset of winter
By Georgi KantchevFollow
Updated Aug. 31, 2022 9:13 am ET
BERLIN—Russia shut down its main artery for natural gas to Europe for maintenance on Wednesday, in what Western governments see as the latest salvo in the Kremlin’s economic war on the continent.
The halt comes as European nations race to fill gas storage facilities to prevent a shortage in the midst of winter. Shortages would trigger rationing, likely kneecapping industry and tipping the continent’s already struggling economy into a recession.
Moscow has already throttled back deliveries over the Nord Stream pipeline—which links Russia’s prolific Siberian gas fields with Germany under the Baltic Sea—to just 20% of its maximum capacity, citing technical issues with its turbines. European officials have dismissed these explanations and have called the gas cuts an economic attack in retaliation for supporting Ukraine in the war.
On Wednesday, the Kremlin-controlled gas giant Gazprom PJSC said that it had completely halted the Nord Stream pipeline as “scheduled preventive work begins at the gas compressor unit.” The pipeline is due to come back online early on Saturday.
European officials and analysts, however, have questioned whether Gazprom would restart the pipeline as planned. Some expect Moscow to find new technical pretexts to prolong the outage, while others see Gazprom keeping gas flowing at a low level to create uncertainty and manipulate gas prices.
“Gas prices and European sentiment are about to face a major stress test as the Nord Stream pipeline gets shut for maintenance today for three days, and there is growing concern that another reduction in supply or a complete cutoff in flows may follow at the end of the week,” analysts at ING Bank wrote in a report to clients on Wednesday.
Gas prices in Europe, which have traded at record highs in recent weeks, fell on Wednesday, with futures for gas at a trading hub in the Netherlands, the benchmark in northwest Europe, dropping more than 5%.
Gas is a key fuel for the European economy, heating homes and fueling factories such as smelters and fertilizer plants. Soaring prices for electricity have forced some industrial operations in Europe to announce shutdowns in recent weeks, including energy-intensive metal forging operations.
First opened in 2011, the 760-mile-long Nord Stream pipeline has been an important source of gas for Germany, Europe’s largest economy. Before the war, Russia covered over half of Germany’s gas imports, but supply cuts via Nord Stream affect other European customers because Germany exports some of the gas abroad. There are other gas pipelines from Russia to Europe, but Russia has also throttled flows through these in the wake of the war.
Unlike the 10-day annual maintenance in July, the current Nord Stream shut-off caught officials and traders by surprise when it was announced earlier this month. Maintenance operations are usually telegraphed well in advance so that utilities and traders can make alternative arrangements.
While Gazprom restored gas flows following the works in July, it limited supplies just days later, citing technical problems with turbines. The company insists that a key turbine couldn't be sent to Russia after it was maintained in Canada because of international sanctions on Moscow. But Germany, where the turbine was located, said that there are no obstacles and that Moscow was in fact blocking the turbine’s return to Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday said nothing will interfere with gas supplies via Nord Stream “apart from technical problems caused by sanctions.”
Gazprom said on Tuesday that it would suspend gas supplies to French utility Engie SA from Thursday over a contractual dispute. Engie said that it had already secured enough gas volumes to ensure supply and has undertaken measures to mitigate any interruption by Gazprom.
While a complete halt of Nord Stream deliveries would worsen Europe’s energy balance during winter when demand is at its seasonal peak, the European Union has been filling its storage facilities faster than expected.
Germany, which has Europe’s largest gas stores, is close to hitting its 85% gas storage target, initially set for Oct. 1. German officials, however, have warned that reaching the next milestone of 95% by Nov. 1 would be challenging unless companies and households cut consumption.
“We can take gas from the storage in the winter, we are saving gas (and need to keep doing so!),” Klaus Müller, the head of the country’s energy regulator, wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
High gas prices have reduced industrial demand. Increased imports via pipeline from Norway and shipments of liquefied natural gas from the U.S. have put Europe in a stronger position ahead of winter than many analysts forecast when Gazprom first cut supplies through Nord Stream in June. At the same time, there are concerns that supplies from producers besides Russia might not be enough to satisfy European demand later next year.
“Effectively we’ve sacrificed, especially in Germany, industrial consumption over the past month to hit really, really ambitious storage targets,” said Ben McWilliams, an analyst at the Bruegel think tank, adding that the amount of gas in storage makes government-enforced rationing this winter less likely.
For Russia, cutting the supply of gas to Europe isn’t without risk, as the continent has traditionally been Gazprom’s main market and provides a big part of the company’s revenue. Domestic storage, meanwhile, is filling up fast and some gas wells might need to be closed, many of which will be technically difficult to reopen. Russia’s options to reroute the gas flows to Asia or other markets are limited by its traditionally Europe-facing infrastructure.
But despite the limited flows abroad, the company was able to record hefty profits.
“Despite the decline in gas supplies to foreign markets, to markets far abroad, our calculations absolutely clearly show that the financial results of Gazprom, our revenue for 2022, will be significantly higher than in 2021,” Chief Executive Alexei Miller said Wednesday, according to the Russian news agency, TASS.
Russia Halts Nord Stream Gas Pipeline, Ratcheting Up Pressure on Europe
Western governments see the three-day shutdown as the latest salvo in the Kremlin’s economic war on Europe.www.wsj.com
Neither one of them. My liking for the movie stems from the love scene where they play that wonderful song. Hallelujah ....So who do YOU figure was right? Manhattan, who was willing to lie to keep the world from killing itself, or Rorschach, who insisted on the truth regardless of the consequences?
Russia uses its energy sales to maintain/improve the value of the ruble, when compared to the U.S. dollar - see the recent rise of the value of the ruble over the last several months.Europe expects the Russians to find another technical reason for shutting down the pipeline . . .
because . . . it is what I would do, it is what they would do, it is what any rational country would do.
It is surprising that Russia is shipping any energy to Europe.
Such choices by Russia would not "end the war."No kidding. If I was Russia, I'd order an immediate stop to any Natural Gas.
PLUS, I'd order the bombings of the power grid and fuel depots all over Ukraine.
I can't understand why Russia doesn't want to end this war.
For the French company Engie, the cutoff was for lack of payment on gas delivered in July.Europe expects the Russians to find another technical reason for shutting down the pipeline . . .
because . . . it is what I would do, it is what they would do, it is what any rational country would do.
It is surprising that Russia is shipping any energy to Europe.