Food and fuel prices are soaring globally, and the Russian oil and gas supply has been squeezed since the invasion of Ukraine. In response, European governments are paving the way to massive investments in fossil fuels from non-Russian sources that imperil efforts to tackle climate change. Policies are being made …
Read More »The Burgeoning Energy Partnership between Azerbaijan and the EU
On July 18, the European Commission signed the new Memorandum of Understanding on a Strategic Partnership in the Field of Energy with Azerbaijan to increase imports of Azerbaijani natural gas to Europe by at least 20 billion cubic meters (bcm) annually by 2027. “Today … we are opening a new …
Read More »Why Algeria cannot Solve Europe’s Gas Problem
European politicians have been scouring their neighbourhood to find new gas supplies to replace those threatened by Russia. They have secured some promises in their tour that took them from Azerbaijan via the Gulf to Egypt and Israel. They have visited Algeria too, but Africa’s largest country and biggest gas …
Read More »China’s Decarbonization Pace won’t be Affected by Western Hype
Chinese provincial-level governments approved the construction of coal-fired power plants with a total capacity of 8.63 gigawatts in the first quarter of 2022, nearly half the amount seen in all of 2021, research from Greenpeace East Asia’s Beijing office shows on Wednesday. While it is unclear whether such data is …
Read More »The World is Ready for a Renewable Gas Revolution
An Australian advert hyped up the future of “renewable gas” this month in a bid to start raising public knowledge of new green energy projects that could eventually change our home energy use. Automakers and many energy majors have already set their sights on green hydrogen, but there is little …
Read More »Europe’s Big and Expensive Energy Mistake
France plans to renationalize EDF, its giant utility. That doesn’t sound like a big deal because the government already owns 84% of EDF’s outstanding shares. But here is how we read the story. The French government wants to expand nuclear production in France and it also wants EDF to spend …
Read More »Asia can’t Save Russia’s Energy Sector
Russia’s reckless and bloody invasion of Ukraine in February set in motion a cascade of events for which it was ill-prepared. Europe began the process of divorcing itself from Russian fossil fuels, the U.S. coordinated sweeping export controls on key inputs such as semiconductors with Asian partners, and the Russian …
Read More »Germany’s Crisis
Germany is in crisis in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s energy giant, Gazprom, effecting a 60 per cent reduction in the amount of natural gas it supplies to the country. This appears to be the latest move by the Kremlin to punish Europe for sanctions and military support for Ukraine. …
Read More »Qatar Set for New Phase of Development
On 21 November, the Fifa football World Cup kicks off in Qatar, marking the end of a glorious cycle of investment and the start of Qatar’s next phase of development. Nine stadiums have been built for the tournament at a cost of about $5bn. Together they crown a $157bn programme …
Read More »GCC Construction Outlook 2022 Intelligence Report
After six challenging years for the GCC construction industry, contractors, consultants and suppliers can at last look forward to a return to growth and the prospect of rising project opportunities in 2022. With some $1.4tn-worth of construction and transport projects planned in the GCC yet to see their main contracts …
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