Russia offered to pump more gas to Europe. But analysts doubt that’s ever going to happen
LONDON — Winter isn’t even upon us yet and Europe is already experiencing a gas market crisis with bumper demand and limited supply, prompting a squeeze on prices in the region.
So when Russian President Vladimir Putin stepped in on Wednesday, offering to increase Russia’s gas supplies to Europe, regional gas prices (up a staggering 500% so far this year) fell and markets breathed a sigh of relief.
Market analysts quickly suspected that the offer to increase supplies to Europe was likely intended to put pressure on Germany to certify the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline (which will take Russian gas supplies to Germany via the Baltic Sea) for use, as Russia is waiting on Germany’s energy regulator to authorize the $11 billion pipeline, a process that could take several months.
Experts warned that Russia’s offer demonstrated that Europe is increasingly vulnerable to Moscow’s ability to turn on — and off, more importantly — gas supplies as and when it wants.
While Russia’s apparent largesse might have offered gas markets some respite, analysts have since noted that Russia might not even be able to deliver on promises to supply more.
“Comments from Mr. Putin appear to have provided some comfort to the market. However, whether these additional gas supplies depend on a quick approval of Nord Stream 2 or not may not be the main issue,” Adeline Van Houtte, Europe analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said in a note Thursday.
“Currently, the Russian domestic gas market remains tight, with its inventories running low, output already near its peak and winter looming in Russia as well, limiting gas export capacity,” she said.
“There is also little sign that Gazprom — the Russian gas export pipeline monopoly, which supplies 35% of European gas needs — is attempting to pump more gas to Europe’s spot buyers via existing routes, and overall given its small room for manoeuver, it is unlikely that Gazprom could deliver more than around 190bcm (billion cubic meters) to Europe this year,” she said, warning it meant “European prices are unlikely to cool substantially in 2021.”
Mike Fulwood, senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, expressed doubts that Russia is able to supply more gas to Europe too, noting that production is already at record levels.
“Russia’s been faced with the same demand pressures” as elsewhere, he noted.
“It was [a] very cold winter in Russia last winter, and Russian production is actually at record levels,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.” “It’s well up on last year of course when demand was down, but it’s also up on 2019 levels, and they’ve been having to refill their own storage as well, which was depleted badly because of the cold weather.”
“So it’s extremely doubtful whether they could supply more gas, whatever the route,” he added.
Russia’s reliability as an energy supplier to Europe has been high on the agenda for policymakers, both in the region and the United States, for several years now.
The last couple of U.S. presidential administrations have been vocal in their disapproval of the construction of the Nord Stream 2 project, warning that it will reduce Europe’s energy security and increase its dependence on Russia. For its part, the U.S. would like to increase its own exports of liquefied natural gas to Europe.
‘They have the capacity’
The International Energy Agency’s Executive Director Fatih Birol seemed convinced that Russia could raise gas supplies to Europe, telling the Financial Times on Thursday that the IEA’s analysis suggested Russia could raise exports by roughly 15% of peak winter supply to the continent.
Calling on Russia to prove itself to be a “reliable supplier,” Birol said the gas exporter could live up to its word if it wants to.
“If Russia does what it indicated yesterday [Wednesday] and increases the volumes to Europe, this would have a calming effect on the market,” he said. “I don’t say they will do it, but if they wish so, they have the capacity to do it.”
![Stig drifts 2,000 hp electric Ford Supervan around Top Gear test track [video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/12/stig_vs_supervan.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
The Top Gear TV show might be over, but its tamed racing driver – a masked, anonymous hot shoe known only as “the Stig” – lives on … and his latest adventure involves pitching the 1,400 hp electric Ford SuperVan demonstration vehicle around the famed Top Gear test track. Sideways.
Whether we’re talking about record lap times at hallowed motorsports grounds like Bathhurst or the Hillclimb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, we’ve been covering the 1,400 hp SuperVan project for some time – but the big boxy Transit-ish racing van with hypercar-slaying performance never seems to get boring.
In this video from the official Top Gear YouTube channel (is Top Gear just a YouTube show, now?), the boxy Ford racer seems to have sprouted an additional 600 peak horsepower in its latest “4.2” iteration, for a stout 2,000 hp total. For his (?) part, the Stig puts all of those horses to work in what appears to be a serious attempt to take the overall track record.
I won’t spoil the outcome for you, but suffice it to say that even the most die-hard anti-EV hysterics will have to admit that SuperVan is a seriously quick machine.
SuperVan 4.2: How fast can a 2000 hp transit go?
[SPOILERS AHEAD] Even with 2,000 hp, instant torque, and over 4,000 lbs. of aerodynamic downforce, the SuperVan wasn’t able to beat the long-standing 1st and 2nd place spots held by the Renault R24 (a legit Formula 1 race car) and the Lotus T125 Exos (a track-only special that sure looks like a legit Formula 1 race car), but after crossing the line with a time of 1:05.3, the Ford claims third place on the overall leaderboard.
That 3rd place is likely to be a permanent spot on Top Gear‘s leaderboard, as well – as the track itself is likely to be demolished somewhat sooner than later.
You can check out the video (above) and watch the whole segment for yourself, or just skip ahead to the eight-minute mark to watch the tire-shredding sideways action promised in the headline. If you do, let us know what you think of Ford’s fast “van” in the comments.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Top Gear.
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Swedish multinational Sandvik says it’s successfully deployed a pair of fully autonomous Toro LH518iB battery-electric underground loaders at the New Gold Inc. ($NGD) New Afton mine in British Columbia, Canada.
The heavy mining equipment experts at Sandvik say that the revolutionary new 18 ton loaders have been in service since mid-November, working in a designated test area of the mine’s “Lift 1” footwall. The mine’s operators are preparing to move the automated machines to the mine’s “C-Zone” any time now, putting them into regular service by the first of the new year.
“This is a significant milestone for Canadian mining, as these are North America’s first fully automated battery-electric loaders,” Sandvik said in a LinkedIn post. “(The Toro LH518iB’s) introduction highlights the potential of automation and electrification in mining.”
The company says the addition of the new heavy loaders will enable New Afton’s operations to “enhance cycle times and reduce heat, noise and greenhouse gas emissions” at the block cave mine – the only such operation (currently) in Canada.
Electrek’s Take
From drilling and rigging to heavy haul solutions, companies like Sandvik are proving that electric equipment is more than up to the task of moving dirt and pulling stuff out of the ground. At the same time, rising demand for nickel, lithium, and phosphates combined with the natural benefits of electrification are driving the adoption of electric mining machines while a persistent operator shortage is boosting demand for autonomous tech in those machines.
The combined factors listed above are rapidly accelerating the rate at which machines that are already in service are becoming obsolete – and, while some companies are exploring the cost/benefit of converting existing vehicles to electric or, in some cases, hydrogen, the general consensus seems to be that more companies will be be buying more new equipment more often in the years ahead.
What’s more, more of that equipment will be more and more likely to be autonomous as time goes on.
We covered the market outlook for autonomous and electric mining equipment earlier this summer, and I posted an episode exploring the growing demand for electric equipment on an episode of Quick Charge I’ve embedded, below. Check it out, then let us know what you think of the future of electric mining in the comments.
More EVs means more mines, equipment
SOURCE | IMAGES: Sandvik, via LinkedIn.
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European logistics firm Contargo is adding twenty of Mercedes’ new, 600 km-capable eActros battery electric semi trucks to its trimodal delivery fleet, bringing zero-emission shipping to Germany’s hinterland.
With over 300 miles of all-electric range, the new Mercedes eActros 600 electric semi truck was designed for (what a European would call) long-haul trucking. Now, after officially entering production at the company’s Wörth plant in Bavaria last month, the eActros 600 is reaching its first customer: Contargo.
With the addition of the twenty new Mercedes, Contargo’s electric truck fleet has grown to 60 BEVs, with plans to increase that total to 90. And, according to Mercedes, Contargo is just the first.
The German truck company says it has plans to deliver fifty (50) of the 600 kWh battery-equipped electric semi trucks to German shipping companies by the close of 2024.
Contargo’s 20 eActros 600 trucks were funded in part by the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport as part of a broader plan to replace a total of 86 diesel-engined commercial vehicles with more climate-friendly alternatives. The funding directive is coordinated by NOW GmbH, and the applications were approved by the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility.
Electrek’s Take
Electric semi trucks are racking up millions of miles in the US, and abroad. As more and more pilot programs begin to pay off, they’re going to lead to more orders for battery electric trucks and more reductions in both diesel demand and harmful carbon emissions.
We can’t wait to see more.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Contargo, via Electrive.
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