In this Issue:

FROM THE EDITOR: RUSSIA’S NEW NORMAL

As Russian president Vladimir Putin faces the Russian people for continued war and confrontation with the West, the country’s energy industry must also prepare for a new normal.

BP FORESEES FASTER TRANSITION AWAY FROM OIL, GAS

In its energy outlook 2023, BP states that the upheaval caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will push countries to pursue greater energy security over the next decade, with oil and gas consumption declining faster than predicted previously

KARPOWERSHIP POISED TO STRIKE FIRST EUROPEAN DEAL

Karpowership promotes its floating power plants as an option for fast flexible electricity supply that can be deployed when countries most need it.

LACK OF REFORM, FINANCIAL RUNS LEAVES LEBANON’S ENERGY SECTOR IN LIMBO

The US-brokered maritime agreement between Lebanon and Israel is grounds for optimism, but further reforms are needed to kickstart offshore development and ease Beirut’s energy woes.

LIBYA KICKS OFF MAJOR GAS PROJECT

The first major upstream project in Libya since around 2000 will involve developing two offshore gas fields, with production scheduled to start in 2026.

THE 2022 EU GAS MARKET IN NUMBERS

EU gas demand dropped by a record 13% last year, while indigenous supply fell once more, by 8%.

FROM THE EDITOR: SOUTH ASIA NEEDS GAS AND RENEWABLES NOT COAL

The LNG market will take time to normalise fully. Developing countries like Pakistan need support to double down on renewable energy, not slide back into a future based on coal.

NUCLEAR EXPANSION PLANS THREATEN SOUTH KOREAN LNG DEMAND

A major turnaround on nuclear policy places south Korea’s long-term LNG prospects in jeopardy. But it remains to be seen whether the sharp fall projected in the fuel’s share of power generation will actually be realised.

GREATER SUNRISE PROSPECTS GAIN NEW IMPETUS

Timor Leste’s oil and gas output is close to exhaustion, but an apparent change of strategy on the part of Australian company woodside and positive harmonics between Dili and Canberra suggest the long-stalled greater sunrise LNG project might now make real progress.

GERMANY: LONG-TERM OR TRANSIENT LNG MARKET?

No final investment decision has been taken on onshore regasification plants in Germany. The use of FSRUs – a necessary emergency option – means import capacity can be released. Nonetheless structural factors suggest LNG has a 20-25 year window of opportunity in the world’s fourth largest economy.

REPORTS OF DEMISE OF CANADIAN LNG PREMATURE

Many have written off Canada’s LNG aspirations beyond the LNG Canada facility now under construction and a couple of smaller floating terminals. That may not be the case.

LNG CARRIER MARKET TIGHTENS AMID HEATED COMPETITION FOR SUPPLIES

The availability of LNG carriers, already tightened by the global energy crisis last year, is set to be squeezed even further by new environmental regulations that will prompt vessels to slow steam and thus increase journey times.

PRELUDE FLNG DRIVES IMPROVEMENTS IN SHELL RESULTS

Shell’s enormous bet on the prelude FLNG off Australia has seen $12bn written off, and then written back, and has moved the accounting dial from disaster to triumph.

FROM THE EDITOR: THE PROBLEM WITH GLOBAL CLIMATE POLICY? THERE IS NONE

In the three decades since the Rio Summit created the UNFCC, global climate policy has seen a hodge-podge of accords, mandates and protocols. That has produced another hodge-podge of national aspirations, but little in the way of concerted, co-ordinated efforts to reduce emissions.

BNEF DECLARES TURNING POINT IN CLEAN ENERGY INVESTMENTS

Global investment in low-carbon and clean energy increased by a massive 31% in 2022, to $1.1tn, drawing level with capital investments in fossil fuels for the first time.

AMMONIA TRUMPS HYDROGEN ON COST AS POWER SOURCE

A new study by General Electric and IHI shows that ammonia is a cheaper low-carbon fuel option for power generation than hydrogen, and much of it comes down to the transportation cost.