Tag: energy

Russian nuclear fuel: The habit Europe just can’t break

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Europe is on track to kick its addiction to Russian fossil fuels, but can’t seem to replicate that success with nuclear energy a year into the Ukraine war.
The EU’s economic sanctions on Russian coal and oil permanently reshaped trade and left Moscow in a “much diminished position,” according to the International Energy Agency. Coal imports have dropped to zero, and it is illegal for Russian crude to be imported by ship; only four countries still receive it by pipeline.
That’s compared to the bloc getting 54 percent of its hard coal imports and one-quarter of its oil from Russia in 2020.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to turn off the gas taps while the EU turned increasingly to liquefied natural gas deliveries from elsewhere caused the reliance on Moscow to tumble from 40 percent of the bloc’s gas supply before the war to less than 10 percent now.
But nuclear energy has proved a trickier knot for EU countries to untie — for both historical and practical reasons.
As competition in the global nuclear sector atrophied following the Cold War, Soviet-built reactors in the EU remained locked into tailor-made fuel from Russia, leaving Moscow to play an outsized role.
In 2021, Russia’s state-owned atomic giant Rosatom supplied the bloc’s reactors with 20 percent of their natural uranium, handled a quarter of their conversion services and provided a third of their enrichment services, according to the EU’s Euratom Supply Agency (ESA).
That same year, EU countries paid Russia €210 million for raw uranium exports, compared to the €88 billion the bloc paid Moscow for oil.
The value of imports of Russia-related nuclear technology and fuel worldwide rose to more than $1 billion (€940 billion) last year, according to research from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). In the EU, the value of Russia’s nuclear exports fell in some countries like Bulgaria and the Czech Republic but rose in others, including Slovakia, Hungary and Finland, RUSI data shared with POLITICO showed.
“While it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions from what is ultimately a time-limited and incomplete dataset, it does clearly show that there are still dependencies on, and a market for, Russian nuclear fuel,” said Darya Dolzikova, a research fellow at RUSI.
Although uranium from Russia could be replaced by imports from elsewhere within a year — and most nuclear plants have at least one-year extra reserves, according to ESA head Agnieszka Kaźmierczak — countries with Russian-built VVER reactors rely on fuel made by Moscow.
“There are 18 Russian-designed nuclear power plants in [the EU] and all of them would be affected by sanctions,” said Mark Hibbs, a senior fellow at Carnegie’s Nuclear Policy Program. “This remains a deeply divided issue in the European Union.”
That’s why the bloc has struggled over the past year to target Russia’s nuclear industry — despite repeated calls from Ukraine and some EU countries to hit Rosatom for its role in overseeing the occupied Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, and possibly supplying equipment to the Russian arms industry.
“The whole question of sanctioning the nuclear sector … was basically killed before there was ever a meaningful discussion,” said a diplomat from one EU country who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The most vocal opponent has been Hungary, one of five countries — along with Slovakia, Bulgaria, Finland and the Czech Republic — to have Russian-built reactors for which there is no alternative fuel so far.
Bulgaria and the Czech Republic have signed contracts with U.S. firm Westinghouse to replace the Russian fuel, according to ESA chief Kaźmierczak, but the process could take “three years” as national regulators also need to analyze and license the new fuel.
The “bigger problem” across the board is enrichment and conversion, she added, due to chronic under-capacity worldwide. It could take “seven to 10 years” to replace Rosatom — and that timeline is conditional on significant investments in the sector.
While Finland last year scrapped a deal to build a Russian-made nuclear plant on the country’s west coast — prompting a lawsuit from Rosatom — others aren’t changing tack.
Slovakia’s new Mochovce-3 Soviet VVER-design reactor came online earlier this month, which Russia will supply with fuel until at least 2026.
Russia’s nuclear energy was not initially included in EU sanctions over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine | Eric Piermont/AFP via Getty Images
Hungary, meanwhile, deepened ties with Moscow by giving the go-ahead to the construction of two more reactors at its Paks plant last summer, underwritten by a €10 billion Russian loan.
“Even if [they] were to come into existence, nuclear sanctions would be filled with exemptions because we are dependent on Russian nuclear fuel,” said a diplomat from a second EU country.
This article has been updated with charts depicting Russia’s nuclear exports.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

February 21, 2023
India-US making efforts for cooperation in nuclear energy sector

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New Delhi: In the face of growing global concerns over energy security triggered by the Ukraine conflict, India and the US are giving a fresh look at exploring practical cooperation in the civil nuclear energy sector after failing to move forward since inking a historic agreement over 14 years back for partnership in the area.
Ways for possible cooperation in nuclear commerce under the framework of the India-US nuclear agreement of 2008 figured prominently in the talks US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey R Pyatt had with his Indian interlocutors in Delhi on February 16 and 17.
In an exclusive interview to PTI, Pyatt described India as a “very crucial” partner for the US in ensuring global energy security in view of serious disruptions in supplies of fossil fuel resulting from Russia’s “brutal” invasion of Ukraine.
“I am very focused on how we can develop opportunities for future civil nuclear cooperation, recognising that if we are stuck at issues, we have to work them through, the famous liability question,” he said.
“The business model of the civil nuclear industry is changing. In the US, we made a huge commitment to small and marginal reactors which could be particularly suitable to the Indian environment as well,” he said without elaborating further.
The senior Biden administration official also said the US supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “incredibly ambitious” energy transition goal of having 500 GW (gigawatt) of energy from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.
Pyatt served at the US Embassy in New Delhi as Political Counselor from 2002 to 2006 and as Deputy Chief of Mission from 2006 to 2007, a period that saw intense negotiations between the two sides on the civil nuclear pact.
The actual cooperation in the civil nuclear energy sector eluded in the last over 14 years primarily due to differences between the two sides over India’s liability rules relating to seeking damages from suppliers in the event of an accident.

“It was the first big thing that our two governments did together. It was so powerful for the rest of the world,” Pyatt said about the 2008 pact.
The US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy said the “civil nuclear renaissance” that the people were talking about got derailed to some considerable degree following the accident at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant in 2011.
However, he said Japan is now reconsidering the importance of nuclear power as part of its overall response to the “incredible disruptions of the global energy markets that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin has caused with his invasion of Ukraine,” he said, adding the climate crisis is another reason for preferring clean energy.
Pyatt suggested that New Delhi is very keen to take forward civil nuclear energy cooperation as part of the overall bilateral energy ties.
“The US-India energy and climate agenda is one of the most important that we have anywhere in the world,” he said.
In 2016, US energy firm Westinghouse and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCI) broadly agreed on terms for setting up of six nuclear reactors in India.
However, the negotiations were derailed after the American company declared bankruptcy in 2017.
There has been renewed focus globally on nuclear energy after the Ukraine war resulted a fossil fuel crisis.
The US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy said overall energy cooperation between India and the US will form a major part of the strategic ties between the two sides.
“When I look at where our strategic relationship is going, I see the issues that I am now responsible for as being right at the centre of the picture because there is so much potential to build on the strong foundation to do even more,” he said.
Pyatt said the US is keen on forging strong cooperation with India in areas of green hydrogen energy as well.
India on January 4 approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission with an outlay of Rs 19,744 crore to develop a green hydrogen production capacity of five million tonnes a year by 2030.
“The US investment in hydrogen complements the Indian investment in hydrogen and what I am interested in right now is to build bridges between our respective efforts so that we can leverage each other’s expertise,” he said.
To a question, Pyatt said there is significant scope for joint projects between the companies of the two countries in the area.
Pyatt said just like Reliance Industries is looking at green hydrogen in India, ExxonMobil Corporation, an American multinational oil and gas corporation, has also made a big commitment to the clean energy source.
He said India and the US can work in areas of hydrogen fuel cells, and how to scale up storage mechanisms for hydrogen energy and green shipping.
“There is fantastic scope for it. The market is going to have to decide how we use this product,” Pyatt said.
The American diplomat said the US is looking at possible energy cooperation under the framework of Quad as well.
“Quad is a fundamental organising principle for us. If you look at the different ways in which our four governments are active – all four have made a big commitment to hydrogen (energy). Australia has a big hydrogen programme, India has a large commitment. Our hydrogen ecosystem is going to grow very fast, the Japanese have a long-standing interest in hydrogen (energy),” he said.
Besides India and the US, the Quad comprises Japan and Australia.
The top diplomat further added: “This visit is focused on how to build up the US-India bilateral strategic energy partnership. But I think as that partnership becomes stronger and moves into the future-oriented areas, there is a natural opportunity to go from there into the Quad setting.”
Pyatt said the Russian invasion of Ukraine has created an incentive, particularly in places like Europe, to accelerate the energy transition.
“It is important to understand that Putin thought he could bring Europe to its knees by holding back gas resources, (but) that has failed and now that it has failed, he cannot play that card again. We have to make sure that he is never in a position to do that to anybody else,” the senior diplomat said.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 19, 2023
Putin is staring at defeat in his gas war with Europe

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There’s more bad news for Vladimir Putin. Europe is on course to get through winter with its vital gas storage facilities more than half full, according to a new European Commission assessment seen by POLITICO.
That means despite the Russian leader’s efforts to make Europe freeze by cutting its gas supply, EU economies will survive the coldest months without serious harm — and they look set to start next winter in a strong position to do the same.
A few months ago, there were fears of energy shortages this winter caused by disruptions to Russian pipeline supplies.

But a combination of mild weather, increased imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and a big drop in gas consumption mean that more than 50 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas is projected to remain in storage by the end of March, according to the Commission analysis.
A senior European Commission official attributed Europe’s success in securing its gas supply to a combination of planning and luck.
“A good part of the success is due to unusually mild weather conditions and to China being out of the market [due to COVID restrictions],” the official said. “But demand reduction, storage policy and infrastructure work helped significantly.”
Ending the winter heating season with such healthy reserves — above 50 percent of the EU’s roughly 100bcm total storage capacity — removes any lingering fears of a gas shortage in the short term. It also eases concerns about Europe’s energy security going into next winter.
The positive figures underlie the more optimistic outlook presented by EU leaders in recent days, with Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson saying on Tuesday that Europe had “won the first battle” of the “energy war” with Russia.
EU storage facilities — also vital for winter gas supply in the U.K., where storage options are limited — ended last winter only around 20 percent full. Brussels mandated that they be replenished to 80 percent ahead of this winter, requiring a hugely expensive flurry of LNG purchases by European buyers, to replace volumes of gas lost from Russian pipelines.
The wholesale price of gas rose to record levels during storage filling season — peaking at more than €335 per megawatt hour in August — with dire knock-on effects for household bills, businesses’ energy costs and Europe’s industrial competitiveness.
Gas prices have since fallen to just above €50/Mwh amid easing concerns over supplies. The EU has a new target to fill 90 percent of gas storage again by November 2023 — an effort that will now require less buying of LNG on the international market than it might have done had reserves been more seriously depleted.
“The expected high level of storages at above 50 percent [at] the end of this winter season will be a strong starting point for 2023/24 with less than 40 percent to be filled (against the difficult starting point of around 20 percent in storage at the end of winter season in 2022,” the Commission assessment says.
Analysts at the Independent Commodity Intelligence Services think tank said this week that refilling storages this year could still be “as tough a challenge as last year” but predicted that the EU now had “more than enough import capacity to meet the challenge.”
Across the EU, five new floating LNG terminals have been set up — in the Netherlands, Greece, Finland and two in Germany — providing an extra 30bcm of gas import capacity, with more due to come online this year and next.
However, the EU’s ability to refill storages to the new 90 percent target ahead of next winter will likely depend on continued reduction in gas consumption.
Brussels set member states a voluntary target of cutting gas demand by 15 percent from August last year. Gas demand actually fell by more than 20 percent between August and December, according to the latest Commission data, partly thanks to efficiency measures but also the consequence of consumers responding to much higher prices by using less energy.
The 15 percent target may need to be extended beyond its expiry date of March 31 to avoid gas demand rebounding as prices fall. EU energy ministers are set to discuss the issue at two forthcoming meetings in February and March.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

February 16, 2023
In from the coal: Australia sheds climate pariah status to make up with Europe

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Europe loves the Aussies again.
Australia was, until recently, an international pariah on climate change and a punchline in Brussels. But a new government in Canberra coupled with Europe’s energy and economic woes mean a better relationship is now emerging — one that could fuel Europe’s transition to a clean economy, while enriching Australia immensely.
“Europe is energy hungry and capital rich, Australia’s energy rich and capital hungry, and that means that there’s a lot that we can do together,” said Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen.
A little over a year ago, relations between Australia and the EU were in a parlous state. The government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison had reneged on a nuclear submarine contract — a decision the current government stands by — incensing the French and by extension the EU. Equally as frustrating for many Europeans was Australia’s climate policy, which was viewed as outstandingly meager even in a lackluster global field.
The election of Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese — whose father was Italian — last May brought a change in tone, as well as a new climate target and a trickle of policies designed to cut greenhouse gas pollution that heats up the planet.
Those moves were “the entry ticket” to dealings with Europe, Bowen told POLITICO in Brussels, the second-last stop on a European tour. “Australia’s change of climate positioning, climate policy, has changed our position in the world.”
That’s been most notable in progress on talks on a free trade agreement with the EU. Landing that deal would be a “big step forward,” said Bowen. Particularly because when it comes to clean energy, Australia wants to sell and Europe wants to buy.
Using the vast sunny desert in its interior, Australia could be a “renewable energy superpower,” Bowen argued. Solar energy can be tapped to make green hydrogen and shipped to Europe, he said.

European governments are listening closely to the pitch. Bowen was in Rotterdam on Monday, inspecting the potential to use the Netherlands port as an entry for antipodean hydrogen. He signed a provisional deal with the Dutch government to that end. Last week, Bowen announced a series of joint investments with the German government in Australian hydrogen research projects worth €72 million.
It’s not just sun, Australia has tantalum and tungsten and a host of minerals Europe needs for building clean tech, but that it currently imports. In many cases those minerals are refined or otherwise processed in China, a dependency that Brussels is keen to rapidly unwind — not least with its Critical Raw Materials Act, expected in March.
According to a 2022 government report, Australia holds the second-largest global reserves of cobalt and lithium, from which batteries are made, and is No. 1 in zirconium, which is used to line nuclear reactors.
Asked whether Australia can ease Europe’s dependence on China, Bowen said: “We want to be a very strong factor in the supply chains. We’re a trusted, reliable trading partner. We have strong ethical supply chains. We have strong environmental standards.”
But Australia has its own entanglements.
Certain Australian minerals, notably lithium, are largely refined and manufactured in China. Bowen said he was keen on bringing at least some of that resource-intensive, polluting work back to Australia.
While its climate targets are now broadly in line with other rich nations, the rehabilitation of Australia’s climate image jars with its role as one of the biggest fossil fuel sellers on the planet.
Australia’s coal exports, when burned in overseas power plants, generate huge amounts of planet-warming pollution — almost double the amount produced annually by Australians within their borders. Australia is also the third-largest exporter of natural gas, including an increasing flow to the EU. At home, the government is facing calls from the Greens party and centrist climate independents to reject plans for more than 100 coal and gas developments around the country.
But how many of Bowen’s counterparts raised the issue of Australia’s emissions during his travels around Europe? “Nobody,” he said. “We are here to help.”
Antonia Zimmermann contributed reporting.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

February 8, 2023
Russia’s oil revenues plunge as EU’s oil war enters round 2

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The EU’s energy war with Russia has entered a new phase — and there are signs that the Kremlin is starting to feel the pain.
As of Sunday, it is illegal to import petroleum products — those refined from crude oil, such as diesel, gasoline and naphtha — from Russia into the EU. That comes hot on the heels of the EU’s December ban on Russian seaborne crude oil.
Both measures are also linked to price caps imposed by the G7 club of rich democracies aimed at driving down the price that Russia gets for its oil and refined products without disrupting global energy markets.

Those actions appear to have bitten into the Kremlin’s budget in a way other economic penalties levied in retaliation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have not.
The Kremlin’s tax income from oil and gas in January was among its lowest monthly totals since the depths of COVID in 2020, according to Janis Kluge, senior associate at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
Kluge noted that while Russia’s 2023 budget anticipates 9 trillion rubles (€120 billion) in fossil fuel income, in January it earned only 425 billion rubles from oil and gas taxes, around half compared to the same month last year.
It’s only one month’s figures and the income does fluctuate, but Kluge called it “a bad start.”
Russia’s gas sales to Europe have also collapsed — in part as a result of Moscow’s own energy blackmail — with its share of imports declining from around 40 percent throughout 2021 to 13 percent for November 2022, according to the latest confirmed European Commission monthly figure.
But it’s oil that matters most to Kremlin coffers.
On Friday, EU countries struck a deal on two price caps which will come into full force later this year following a 55-day transition period. A cap of $100 will apply to “premium” oil products, including diesel, gasoline and kerosene. A cap of $45 will be enforced on “discount” products, such as fuel oil, naphtha and heating oil.
The EU ban and the G7 price caps are meant to work in tandem. While the EU bans Russian oil, cutting off a vital market, the price caps ensure that insurance and shipping firms based in the EU and other G7 countries aren’t completely blocked from facilitating the global trade in Russian oil. They still can, but it must be under the price caps. This way — so the theory goes — Russia’s fossil fuel revenue will take a hit without disrupting the global oil market in a way that could endanger supply and drive up the price for everyone.
Squeezing the Kremlin
Russia is selling more crude to China and India to make up for the lost trade with the EU | iStock
So far, EU leaders think, it’s working.
Buyers in China and India and other countries are hoovering up more Russian crude, making up for the lost trade with Europe. But knowing that Russia has few alternative markets, buyers have been able to drive down the price. “The discounts that Russia has to give, that its partners can demand, are strong and are here to stay,” said one senior European Commission official. Russian Urals crude is trading at around $50 per barrel, around $30 below the benchmark Brent crude price.
“I think in general the EU and the G7 can be quite happy with how things have unfolded with regards to the oil embargo and the price cap up to now,” said Kluge. “There has been no turbulence on global oil markets and at the same time Russia’s revenues have gone down considerably. The key reason here is that the price which Russia receives for its crude has gone down.”
The question is whether the EU can keep up the economic pressure on Russia without harming itself in the process.
So far, at least as far as oil is concerned, it’s been plain sailing. Oil markets have proved remarkably flexible since the EU’s crude ban in December, with export flows simply shifting: Asia now takes more Russian crude — often at a discount — while other producers in the Middle East and the U.S. step in to supply Europe.
So far, it is looking likely that a similar “reshuffle” of global trade will take place with oil products like diesel, said Claudio Galimberti, senior vice president of analysis at Rystad Energy.
The nature of the oil product sanctions means that there’s nothing to stop Russian crude from being exported to a third country, refined, and then re-exported to the EU, meaning that India and other countries are becoming more important oil product suppliers to the West.
China and India, as well as others in the Middle East and North Africa, also look likely to snap up Russian oil products that are no longer going straight into Europe, freeing up their own refining capacity to produce yet more product that they can sell into Europe and elsewhere.
“There is a reshuffle of product the same way there was a reshuffle of crude,” Galimberti said.
There could still be problems, however. “Europe is not going to import Russian diesel, so it needs to come from somewhere else,” Galimberti said, pointing to two major refineries in the Middle East — Kuwait’s Al-Zour and Saudi Arabia’s Jazan — upon which European supply will now be increasingly dependent.
“If you had a blip in one of these refineries you could see a price response in Europe,” said Galimberti. But for now, after a glut of imports in advance of Sunday’s ban, “inventories of distillates are full,” he added.
“Europe is in good shape.”

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

February 8, 2023
Just In: Ather Energy Bike gets new feature, catches fire by itself when the rider wants barbecue or bonfire

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Ather Energy kicked off the new year with a slew of new offerings and announcements at its first-ever customer event called, Ather Community Day. For people who like camping, bonfire and barbecue, the brand has rolled out ‘Ather self-ablaze’ feature.

The company demonstrated the feature in a very unique and surprising way when a Ather 450 e-scooter owner complained about his Ather bike catching fire, the Ather Energy Marketing head replied to the owner “Surprise Madafuckaa“.

Speaking to The Fauxy, one of the Ather Energy employees said “It’s one of the coolest.. err.. hottest feature in the bike, and we have gone out of the way.. to China to import cheap Lithium Ion batteries for this feature“.

Mistaking it for an accident and not the bike feature some twitter user tweeted about the Ather Energy’s bike’s new feature.
@atherenergy Fire incident of newly delivered 450X model Ather has been importing Chinese Lithium Ion cells since 1 year to cut down losses & consumers are already facing range issues @OlaElectric @MORTHIndia @Hero_Electric @MorningContext @MHI_GoI @PlugInIndia @bsindia @ETAuto pic.twitter.com/tYAFZ1F64F
— Neeraj Arora (@NeerajA78202762) February 7, 2023

Ather Energy has decided to spend more on marketing of the new ‘Ather self-ablaze’ feature so that the bike owners don’t get confused with bike catching fire being an accident.

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[ Disclaimer: With inputs from The Fauxy, an entertainment portal. The content is purely for entertainment purpose and readers are advised not to confuse the articles as genuine and true, these Articles are Fictitious meant only for entertainment purposes. ]

February 8, 2023
Andhra govt clears Rs 1.10-lakh-crore proposal of NTPC for new energy park

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Amaravati: Public sector power generator NTPC is to set up a “New Energy Park” at Pudimadaka in Anakapalli district of Andhra Pradesh to produce products out of green hydrogen, green ammonia and green methanol at a cost of Rs 1,10,000 crore in two phases.
An official release on Tuesday said the Andhra Pradesh State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) cleared a series of investment proposals to establish several heavy industries in the State.
“NTPC will set up New Energy Park at Pudimadaka in Anakapalli district to produce products of green hydrogen, green ammonia and green methanol with a total investment of Rs. 1, 10,000 crore in two phases with each phase receiving an investment of Rs. 55,000 crore,” the release said.
The first and second phases with employment opportunities to 30,000 and 31,000 people would be completed by 2027 and 2032 respectively.
The Accord Group would set up a Rs 10,000-crore factory at Ramayapatnam to make special minerals like copper cathode, copper rod, sulfuric acid and selenium.
The facility would directly provide 2,500 people jobs and see work start from May 2023 and end by June 2025, according to the release.
Andhra Paper Mills at Kadiyam would go for an expansion at an investment of Rs. 3400 crore. The expansion would be completed by 2025 and provide direct employment to 2,100 people, it further said.
Vizag Tech Park Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, would establish a 100- MW data centre at Kapuluppada in three years at a cost of Rs. 7,210 crore by setting up a 10 MW capacity unit in the first phase.

This would offer direct employment to 14,825 people and indirect employment to 5,625. This is in addition to the 200-mg data park which is coming up.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 8, 2023
Price and supply volatility: Addressing global energy security needs

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Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the India Energy Week (IEW) 2023 on Monday. Participants from different countries gathered to discuss topical energy issues.
Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin also visited Indian Energy Week. Together with Prime Minister Modi, Sechin attended the ministerial session on Price and Supply Volatility and discussed energy cooperation between Russia and India.
According to the IMF’s recent estimates, India and its neighbours will account for half of global economic growth this year. In contrast, the contribution of the US and the Eurozone will amount to only 10 per cent. India’s “enlightened national interest” principles are highly respected.
Based on these principles, the government implements an independent, pressure-free economic policy in harmony with its partners. Cooperation opens up new horizons.
India, as the world’s most populous nation, has become a leader in global economic dynamics, demonstrating rapid improvements in the lives of its people. It is a big country with a young, ambitious population, where dynamics are of the utmost importance.
It is no coincidence that analysts and experts predict growth rates of up to 7 per cent per annum for India. In turn, Russia achieved a result more significant than many of the world’s leading economies in the face of unprecedented sanctions, pressure, and confrontation with almost the entire Western world. Despite the evolving situation around us, implementing major economic programmes has already proven to be a tremendous psychological victory. This will determine success in other spheres.
Thus, the actions of the world hegemon, in an attempt to preserve its hegemony by all means, destroyed the single energy market. To date, there is no single global energy market. Energy security is no longer a global concern. As a result of these actions, all the principles of market trading have been destroyed to date.
Market pricing, contract law and, in general, the possibilities of legal protection of market participants have been abolished. In addition, logistics chains built up for decades have been forcibly severed. The blown-up Nord Stream project serves as an illustrative example.

The reformatting of the European gas market is the most compelling example.
At first, contrary to common sense, Europe was first made to abandon long-term contracts and switch to spot pricing, which led to an unprecedented price increase before the well-known events in Ukraine in the midst of the forced green transition and under-investment in conventional energy. After eliminating Russian competition from the European market through sanctions and pressure, the Americans offered to return to long-term contracts that guarantee a return on investment. This is a banal case of unfair competition.
Consequently, Europe has lost its key competitive advantage — access to cheap and reliable Russian energy carriers — and is forced to pay three to five times higher prices for gas.
According to Bloomberg, the rejection of Russian gas has already cost Europe about 1 trillion euros.
As a result of a reasonable rejection of the accelerated energy transition, focusing on extracting conventional hydrocarbons, US oil majors have become leaders in capitalisation.
By the way, BP, the leader of the green agenda, demonstrated a different approach. They could not, like their competitors, take advantage of the current situation. Based on the results published in its annual reports, we could reasonably assume that BP may announce a return to the strategy of conventional production and a reduction in green investments that generate losses. The total amount of announced write-offs is $38 billion.
It is also observed in the audited annual reports that BP, Rosneft’s 20 per cent shareholder, has revised the value of Rosneft’s stake to $24 billion based on Rosneft’s performance results.
Rosneft assures the corporate world that it will work hard to keep the trust of its shareholders. At the same time, it should be noted that such an increase in the incomes of oil majors is not only due to favourable market conditions. A number of companies maximise profits and increase capitalization by directing funds to pay dividends and buy back shares.
Another beneficiary, taking advantage of the global energy crisis, is the Western military-industrial complex.
The answer to the destruction of the global market and the severance of logistics chains is the regionalisation of markets, and the development of new safe logistics. The regionalisation of markets means forming regional payment systems with their own regional settlement and reserve currencies.
Obviously, the main risks of volatility are unprecedented sanctions pressure, including the so-called ‘price cap’. Non-market interventions must be treated calmly. Experts know how to find a solution. The reference price for Russian oil cannot be decided where this oil does not exist. If there are no supplies to Europe, then the reference prices will be decided from where it arrives — FOB Nakhodka, Dubai, and so on.
As it is written in the Ecclesiastes: “If something is crooked, it can’t be made straight; if something isn’t there, it can’t be counted.”
The fundamental reason for the energy crisis is primarily underinvestment in the industry as consumption grows and the pace of resource replenishment is insufficient.
The annual OPEC report indicates the opinion of Secretary-General Haitham Al Ghais: that to meet the growing oil demand alone by 2045, investments to the tune of $12 trillion are needed. Consumption today is 100 million barrels per day and continues to grow. The four countries with the highest resource base, however, remain the same: Venezuela, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Russian companies, Rosneft in particular, are among the few that have not reduced their level of investment in development over the past decade. Today, Rosneft is implementing the world’s largest investment project to create a new oil and gas province in Eastern Siberia, Vostok Oil, with a resource base of 6.5 billion tons.
One of the drivers of Rosneft’s low carbon operations is Vostok Oil. The flagship project’s carbon footprint is only a quarter of the average global indicators of projects in the modern oil industry.
The Vostok Oil project is distinguished by its uniquely low sulphur content — 0.01-0.04 per cent. The indicator is comparable to the Euro-3 standard for diesel fuel. Vostok Oil actually produces green barrels with the help of advanced technologies. Rosneft is one of the leaders of the low-carbon agenda. The company was the first in the domestic energy sector to set a net zero target by 2050 for Scopes 1 and 2.
In India, such projects are implemented by Nayara. As part of the reinforcement of energy security, we are ready to increase supplies on a long-term basis and diversify supplies. Rosneft will support the activities of Nayara Energy shareholders to develop refining capacities, develop petrochemistry and expand the retail business.
Rosneft can and will work wherever there is growth potential and intent to protect our interests, despite external pressure.
Such countries constitute the largest and growing part of the world’s energy consumption. Rosneft noted the responsible, balanced position of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and our other OPEC+ partners, acting in the long-term interests of stabilising the energy market, despite enormous external pressure.
In fact, one just doesn’t have to step on any rake. All in good time. First, real new green technologies should be developed that can actually reduce carbon emissions. Such technologies simply do not exist right now.
It is necessary right now to reduce emissions in the traditional energy industry, using the technological potential that gives a real effect. Dynamic economic growth in India means large-scale energy consumption and demand growth.
This development of the global energy sector is in Russia’s interests. Therefore, it will do everything it can to support India’s plans. The speed of adapting our economies to new conditions will be of key importance.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 7, 2023
PM Modi to inaugurate India Energy Week in Bangalore

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Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit poll-bound Karnataka for the third time in a period of 36 days on Monday. PM Modi on his one-day visit will inaugurate the India Energy Week organised in Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) at Bengaluru.
On his first visit in February, he will also inaugurate HAL Helicopter Factory in Gubbi Taluk of Tumakuru. This manufacturing facility spread across 615 acres of land is dubbed as India’s largest manufacturing facility of Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) and Indian Multirole Helicopters (IMRH). He will also address a gathering after the incident. PM Modi had laid the foundation stone for the unit in 2016.
The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone for Tumakuru Industrial Township, an Industrial Node on Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor. The project is slated to generate employment for over 90,000 people. It is spread over 1,722 acres and is being implemented at a cost of Rs 1,701 crore.
Further, PM Modi will later inaugurate Multi-Village Water Supply Schemes under Jal Jeevan Mission in Tiptur taluk and Chikkanayakanahalli taluk in Tumakuru, which will provide treated water for 1.86 lakh people from the Hemavathi River at a cost of Rs 435 crore and Rs 115 crore respectively.
Karnataka is heading for elections in two months. His visit to inaugurate Shivamogga airport on February 27 is confirmed already. PM Modi will also come down to Bengaluru to inaugurate the Aero India Show, held between Feb 13 and 17.
The BJP insiders say that PM Modi is highlighting the development and contributions of the double engine government at the state and Center rather than criticizing the opposition parties.
The Opposition parties are targeting the BJP and former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy has stirred a controversy by stating that the BJP is conspiring to make a Brahmin candidate the CM in Karnataka. It is to be seen whether PM Modi will make any comments on opposition parties’ attacks.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 6, 2023
India’s economy already 10% more energy efficient than G20 average: IEA

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New Delhi: India’s economy is already 10 per cent more energy efficient than both the global and G20 average. India took less time to go from half to full electricity access than other major economies, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Monday.
Just hours ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating the three-day India Energy Week in Bengaluru to showcase India’s rising prowess as an energy transition powerhouse, the IEA said the adoption worldwide of the kinds of actions and measures targeted by LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), including behavioural changes and sustainable consumer choices, would reduce the annual global carbon dioxide emissions by more than 2 billion tonnes in 2030.
The LiFE initiative was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021.
It aims to encourage the adoption of sustainable lifestyles in India and internationally to tackle the challenges of environmental degradation and climate change.
A new report, “LiFE Lessons From India”, by the IEA looks at how India’s G20 Presidency this year could strengthen the LiFE initiative internationally to help reduce emissions, energy bills, and inequalities in per capita energy consumption and emissions between countries.
According to the LiFE initiative, the global adoption of such measures would also save consumers globally around $440 billion in 2030.
LiFE measures can also help lower inequalities in energy consumption and emissions between countries. The reductions the measures could deliver in per capita carbon dioxide emissions in advanced economies by 2030 are three to four times greater than in emerging market and developing economies, it says.
The report says already the third largest national market globally for renewables, India has recently seen the growth of consumer-centric solutions like distributed solar PV take off, with rooftop solar growing 30-fold in less than a decade.

Supportive policies and awareness campaigns in India have also driven electric passenger vehicles to a market share of almost five per cent in 2022 – with sales tripling from 2021.
India’s example shows the importance of behavioural change and consumption choices in driving energy transitions.
The IEA has analysed the impact of measures like those proposed by the LiFE initiative, such as buying an EV or taking public transport, as part of comprehensive energy transition strategies.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol told IANS, “India’s G20 Presidency this year represents a unique opportunity to globalise the LiFE initiative — providing a knowledge-sharing platform for other leading economies to realise the impact that LiFE’s recommendations can have in the fight against climate change, air pollution and unaffordable energy bills.
“Since the G20 makes up nearly 80 per cent of global energy demand, meaningful changes by its members can make a big difference.”
The International Monetary Fund estimates that India will be the world’s third-largest economy by 2027, and India is already on course to become the most populous country this year.
Its critical challenge is to ensure secure and affordable energy for growth while advancing its net-zero transition over the coming decades.
To meet these challenges, India has embarked on a dynamic new phase in its energy transformation, which spans three broad areas.
Firstly, it has launched important initiatives to bring down the prices and increase the supply of clean energy. These include a target of non-fossil fuel sources contributing to 50 per cent of India’s power generation capacity by 2030; a National Green Hydrogen Mission with the ambition of establishing annual renewable hydrogen production of 5 million tonnes (Mt) by 2030; and biofuel mandates that target 30 per cent blending of ethanol in petrol by 2030.
Secondly, India seeks to domesticate parts of the global supply chains that will be critical to its new energy economy. This includes the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme that promotes the domestic manufacturing of solar PV, advanced batteries and electric vehicles.
Thirdly, the government has focused on demand-side measures, including taking the first steps towards the creation of a national carbon market, an energy efficiency trading scheme for industries, incentivising the purchase of electric vehicles, bulk procurement of electric buses for public transport, standards and labelling of appliances, and most recently, the Lifestyles for Environment (LiFE) initiative that aims to nudge behaviours and individual consumption choices towards cleaner alternatives.
These measures have immense potential but need global support. The IEA estimates that India will need $145 billion per year until 2030 in clean energy investment to put it on a path towards net-zero emissions by 2070. This is triple the current level of annual clean energy investment in India.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 6, 2023