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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russia's natural gas cuts to Europe are ramping up competition for LNG supplies in other parts of the world.</li><li>Japan and South Korea are moving up LNG purchases on fears that Europe will also hoard supplies, traders told Bloomberg.</li></ul>Russia's cuts to European energy supplies have set off a global scramble to secure liquefied natural gas and avoid shortages this winter. Utilities in Japan and South Korea are now moving up plans to purchase LNG cargoes in anticipation of Europe hoarding cargoes, traders told <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-26/global-competition-for-lng-intensifies-on-new-russia-supply-cut#:~:text=Russia's%20latest%20move%20to%20cut,from%20Asia%20to%20South%20America.">Bloomberg</a>.Buyers in India and Thailand, which typically are more sensitive to higher prices, are also reportedly considering buying more. China, meanwhile, has remained at bay due to stringent lockdowns from rising Covid-19 infections. Beijing was the top importer of LNG in 2021, and an uptick in consumption there could further constrain global supply.The pressure on countries to ensure supply of LNG, which is crucial for power and heat, has only worsened since the onset of the Russian cutbacks.The rush to hoard LNG is also adding to inflation and could push prices higher. Traders told Bloomberg that LNG spot prices in north Asia could hit $40 per million British thermal units, a level not seen since the onset of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, amid disruptions at key US and Australian LNG export terminals.US LNG is already in high demand as Europe looks for alternatives to Russia. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/europe-energy-crisis-us-natural-gas-worlds-top-lng-exporter-2022-7">The US has risen to become the world's largest LNG exporter</a> during the first half of 2022, EIA said, with at least 71% of exports going to the EU and the UK during the first five months of the year.

Russia's natural gas cuts have sparked LNG hoarding that could drive up prices further and worsen shortages

New Delhi, Jan 21 () In a first, state-owned gas utility GAIL India Ltd is ferrying imported LNG in trucks from Gujarat coast to Bhubaneshwar in Odisha as part of a government push for a gas-based economy to reduce emission and carbon footprint.
With gas pipelines yet to reach most parts of eastern India, GAIL has hired specialised cryogenic bullet trucks to transport imported liquefied natural gas from Dahej in Gujarat to Bhubaneshwar, where it is used as CNG to fuel automobiles and piped gas as cooking fuel in kitchens, company Chairman and Managing Director Ashutosh Karnatak said.
LNG is environment-friendly natural gas turned into liquid at minus 160-degree Celsius for ease of transportation in ships and trucks.
"We started transporting LNG through trucks from Dahej to Bhubaneshwar and have broken-even on the business," he told here.
It takes about a week for the LNG truck to move from west coast to the east and on reaching Bhubaneshwar LNG is regasified or converted back into its gaseous state at an LNG Satellite Station, which was set up at a cost of Rs 10 crore. Following regasification, gas is moved in cascades to CNG dispensing stations and piped natural gas fuelling points.
Gas so supplied is cheaper than alternate fuels such as diesel. LNG can also be used as a fuel directly in trucks and buses but there are only a handful of vehicles currently operating in the country using such fuel.
"Gas is a happy fuel. It not just cuts vehicular emissions (caused by use of liquid fuels such as diesel) but also is an environment-friendly replacement for coal," he said.
The government is targeting raising the share of natural gas in India's energy basket to 15 per cent by 2030 from the current 6.2 per cent.
Karnatak said the use of natural gas for generating power and producing fertilizers as well as fuel in steel and aluminum plants, besides city gas operations such as CNG to automobiles and piped cooking gas to households can help achieve the target.
Globally, natural gas constitutes 24 per cent of primary energy consumption. In Gujarat, the share of natural gas in its energy basket is 25-26 per cent because of a network of pipelines that takes the fuel from import or production source to consumption points.
Gas pipelines in India are presently concentrated in west and north, and GAIL is now laying new lines to the east, north-east, and south.
It will complete the ambitious Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga project, involving laying of a 2,655 km pipeline from Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in West Bengal, Bokaro in Jharkhand and Dhamra in Odisha by the year-end, he said, adding a pipeline in the south will also be expedited.
Karnatak said in absence of a national gas pipeline grid, transporting LNG through trucks has become a viable option.
"There has been demand from city gas operators in places such as Bhopal and its neighboring Mandideep, Indore, and Mangalore, where there are no pipelines to take gas, for supplying the fuel in LNG trucks," he said.
The government is planning a network of LNG fuelling stations along the 6,000-km golden quadrilateral highways connecting the four metros, he added.
GAIL is putting together a plan and persuading city gas distributors, gas suppliers, financiers, fleet owners, and truck manufacturers to help build an ecosystem for LNG-fuelled vehicles in the country.
"As many as 24 locations have been identified to set up LNG fuelling stations," he said, adding trucks and buses can ply up to 800/1,000 km on a full-tank of LNG.
A shift to LNG-powered trucks from diesel will cut pollution and turn Indian highways quieter. ANZ ANZ BAL
BAL

GAIL ferries LNG in trucks over 1,700 km to fuel gas demand in east

India's top gas company <keyword id="6358765" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="GAIL" source="Orion">GAIL</keyword> will foray into hydrogen generation and take the acquisition route to scale up its <keyword id="34553" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="renewable-energy" source="Orion">renewable energy</keyword> portfolio as it pivots business beyond natural gas to align with energy transition being witnessed across the globe. As part of a push to embrace cleaner forms of energy, GAIL will be laying pipeline infrastructure to connect consumption centres to gas sources while also augmenting its renewable energy portfolio, GAIL Chairman and Managing Director <keyword id="6516738" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Manoj-Jain" source="Orion">Manoj Jain</keyword> said. "The global energy sector is witnessing a paradigm shift in recent years as the world is transitioning to a sustainable energy future," he said in the company's latest annual report. To accomplish a cleaner primary energy mix for India, the government is emphasizing the expansion of the natural gas sector so as to achieve a gas-based economy along with growth in renewables. GAIL as a leading integrated energy major has aligned with this vision, he said. The firm is laying around 6,000-kilometres of pipeline, including a west coast to east coast pipeline from Mumbai to Jharsuduga in Odisha via Nagpur, he said. It currently has around 13,700-km of natural gas pipeline network. GAIL "will be selectively investing in the renewable energy domain given the future growth potential," he said. The company "has been scouting for opportunities to scale up the RE portfolio from the current 130 MW through bidding and other inorganic routes such as mergers and acquisitions." "In addition, the company is also foraying into ethanol and hydrogen generation," he said without giving details. Hydrogen is a clean fuel that, when consumed in a fuel cell, produces only water. Many countries are venturing into hydrogen production from a variety of domestic resources, such as natural gas, nuclear power, biomass, and renewable power like solar and wind. In India, companies ranging from Reliance Industries to <keyword id="6356834" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Oil-Corporation" source="Orion">Indian Oil Corporation</keyword> and <keyword id="45179" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NTPC" source="Orion">NTPC</keyword> have announced ambitious plans for generating hydrogen. GAIL too joins that list now. GAIL, Jain said, has the largest and most diverse LNG portfolio in India that can offer both stable prices and reliable supply to consumers. The company "shall be pushing for higher gas usage in the industrial segment, transport segment using CNG and LNG, Trigeneration, cold storage, etc," he said, adding the firm was looking for avenues to supply gas in the new segments like LNG trucking (LNG for long-haul transportation). He said GAIL is also looking to expand its presence in petrochemicals and also diversifying into high-margin downstream businesses. "The focus is on having polypropylene (PP) production capacity through setting up two polypropylene units (Propane Dehydrogenation Polypropylene Plant - PDHPP in Usar, Maharashtra and PP plant at Pata, Uttar Pradesh) and assessing opportunities in certain speciality chemicals in India," he said. GAIL presently has a 1.6 million tonnes per annum polyethylene and PP production capacity. It is also setting up at least two compressed biogas plants and an ethanol factory. India, which imports 85 per cent of its crude oil needs, is stepping up efforts to explore new forms of energy to clean up the skies and reduce dependence on imported fuels. "We have 120 MW of renewable energy capacity which we want to scale up to 1GW in next 3-4 years," Jain had told PTI last month. GAIL will bid for a 400 MW solar power capacity being auctioned by SECI (formerly <keyword id="1937268" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Solar-Energy-Corporation-of-India" source="Orion">Solar Energy Corporation of India</keyword>) in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh. The company had in 2019 won a bid for 874 MW operational wind power projects of IL&amp;FS for Rs 4,800 crore. But IL&amp;FS' other partners used the first right of refusal to block GAIL's bid, he had said. GAIL has signed up with state-run power gear maker BHEL for its renewable energy foray. The tie-up looks to leverage the competitive strengths of both companies. GAIL will be the project developer and BHEL will be a project manager and EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractor. The move by GAIL, which commands a 75 per cent market share in gas transmission and more than 50 per cent share in gas trading in India, is seen as part of the government's vision to prepare for the energy transition process, under which the share of gas in the energy mix is sought to be raised to 15 per cent by 2030, from the current 6.2 per cent. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/personal-finance/news/timeless-investing-lessons-from-legends-warren-buffett-peter-lynch-and-john-bogle/articleshow/85503124.cms">Timeless investing lessons from legends Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch and John Bogle</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/cardano-is-hitting-new-high-as-investors-are-confident-about-its-upcoming-smart-contract-system-alonzo/articleshow/85486235.cms">Cardano overtakes Binance Coin to become the third largest cryptocurrency — here’s what’s driving the rally</a>

GAIL scouts for acquisition to augment renewable portfolio, to foray into hydrogen

New Delhi, Jan 12 () The International Energy Agency (IEA) has slammed India's natural gas pricing policy, saying linking domestic production to very low global reference prices has reduced incentives for producers to raise supplies.
 In its first in-depth review of India's energy policies, IEA said for the share of environment-friendly fuel to rise, the government needs to ensure gas is treated on a level playing field with other fuels for taxation and is included under the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
 However, one challenge to raising share of natural gas in the energy basket to 15 per cent by 2030 from current 6 per cent is gas pricing, it said. "Linking domestic gas prices to a basket of (very low) international reference prices has reduced incentives for domestic producers to increase supply."
 The Narendra Modi government, after storming to power in 2014, had approved a formula to price domestically produced gas at the average rate prevailing in gas exporting countries such as the US, UK, Canada, and Russia.
 Price according to this formula currently is USD 3.23 per million British thermal unit, half of what India's pays for import of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
 With stagnant domestic output, India meets half of its gas needs through imports. "India's latest 2014 gas price mechanism focuses very much on reducing the price level rather than the creation of a market-based system to reflect the domestic supply-demand structure in India," it said.
 IEA said there is no trading hub yet in India, although its creation has been suggested for 2019.
 "The creation of a gas hub would allow transparent price discovery on the basis of buyers and sellers interacting in an open market, and has the potential to remove the multiple price regimes in India," it said.
 Stating that the government should go ahead and implement the creation of a gas hub, it said international experience suggests that a virtual trading hub with an entry-exit regime based on transmission capacity is highly suited for market areas with limited transmission capacity and limited domestic production but rising LNG imports.
 The experience in the European Union can be very instructive for India. It has taken more than a decade to create a liquid natural gas market across 28 EU states, it said, adding a liquid and well-functioning domestic gas market would be a strong pillar for India's security of gas supply.
 "The reforms that allow marketing freedom to new supplies might help. However, there is still very low interest from new upstream companies to bid for acreage, given the competition from incumbent producers that sell gas at below its cost of production," IEA said.
 "The price of domestic gas is lower than that of (imported) LNG and is defined by indexation to international markets. Since India sources around 50 oer cent of its LNG imports via long-term contracts and the other half from spot markets, the price difference between oil-linked and spot gas is very important for Indian buyers."
 IEA said the government should "Foster the creation of a liquid market for natural gas in India, gradually moving from gas allocation and multiple pricing regimes to the creation of a gas hub, so that domestic gas and LNG imports can be used in the most efficient way and competition can flourish."
 Also, there is a need to strengthen and clarify the roles and responsibilities with regard to the regulatory supervision of natural gas market activities (upstream, midstream and downstream) to ensure a non-discriminatory access regime to pipeline capacity so that both LNG imports and new gas discoveries can find their way to markets and investment in gas transport and storage is encouraged, it said.
 The government, it said, must "ensure gas is treated on a level playing field with other fuels for taxation and is included under the GST, as the country strives to increase the share of gas in total energy supply."
 In 2017, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced with the aim of further rationalising taxation and reducing overlapping taxes between state and central governments. As many as 17 central and state levies such as excise duty and VAT were amalgamated in GST.
 But not all energy sectors are covered and not at the same rate. Crude oil, petrol, diesel, jet fuel (ATF) and natural gas do not fall under GST and they continue to incur central excise duty and state value-added tax (VAT).
 Other fuels such as coal, naphtha, furnace oil, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) have been brought under GST.
 "For natural gas to compete in India, costs have to come down, including through rationalisation of subsidies for coal and LPG and adjustment of the GST. Since natural gas does not fall under the GST, gas consumption is taxed at several state and central government levels, in addition to the gas transport tariffs.
 "Bringing natural gas under the GST and introducing a postage stamp gas transport tariff would reduce these costs and create a level playing field with other fuels," IEA said.
 IEA also said access to LNG facilities currently needs to be negotiated with the owner. But the government is considering establishing an open access regime for these facilities.
 "Whether these facilities will be fully utilised, or end up as stranded assets, very much depends on the pricing regime for gas," it said. ANZ ABM
ABM

IEA slams India's gas pricing policy, says it reduces incentives for producers to raise supply

<ul class="summary-list"><li>US crude oil exports to Europe from January to May surpassed exports to Asia. </li><li>It's the first time Europe has overtaken Asia since 2016, when the US lifted its ban on oil exports. </li></ul>Europe passed Asia as the largest consumer of US crude oil for the first time in six years as <keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword>'s war on <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword> reorders global energy <keyword id="11893875" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="markets" source="Orion">markets</keyword>. From January to May, the US exported 213.1 million barrels to Europe and 191.1 million barrels to Asia, according to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-15/europe-becomes-top-market-for-us-crude-as-war-upends-trade">Census Bureau data compiled by Bloomberg</a>. That's the first time Europe has topped Asia since 2016, when the US lifted its ban on crude oil exports. Asia's imports of US oil during the January-May period have been relatively flat in recent years while Europe's have been well below 200 million barrels.The shift in consumption exemplifies how Russia's war on Ukraine has spurred upheaval throughout global energy markets.In particular, Europe is swiftly attempting to move away from dependence on Russian energy and exploring other sources. The US was already sending large swathes of liquefied natural <keyword id="11955852" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gas" source="Orion">gas</keyword> to Europe, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/us-gas-exports-to-europe-overtake-asia-russian-supply-energy-2022-6">triple the amount exported in 2021</a>, with Europe also overtaking Asia as the top destination of US LNG this year. Yet Russia is still making quick cash for its crude, as China, India and <keyword id="11894587" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="saudi-arabia" source="Orion">Saudi Arabia</keyword> scoop up discounted supplies shunned by the West. In fact, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/russia-saudi-arabia-oil-fuel-energy-sanctions-inflation-ukraine-2022-7">Saudi Arabia has more than doubled imports of Russian oil</a> to feed domestic power markets to make room for its own crude exports.

US crude oil exports to Europe now surpass shipments to Asia as Russia's war on Ukraine reorders global energy markets

New Delhi, Dec 29 () Oil and gas regulator PNGRB has hired global consultancy ICF to carry out an assessment of India's natural gas demand and the infrastructure needed to unleash the country's massive pent-up requirement, its Chairman Dinesh K Sarraf said.
 Natural gas -- which has far lower emissions compared to alternate liquid fuels such as petrol and diesel used in automobiles and naphtha and coal burned in factories -- makes up for just 6.2 per cent of all forms of energy consumed in the country. This compares to a global average of 24 per cent.
 One reason for the low use of the environment-friendly fuel is inadequate domestic gas production and the lack of infrastructure, particularly pipelines to carry the fuel to end users.
 "We have engaged ICF to do a comprehensive assessment of demand and infrastructure needed," Sarraf said, adding the report is expected by mid-2020.
 India is targeting 15 per cent share of natural gas in the energy basket by 2030. It consumed 166 million standard cubic metres per day of gas during the 2018-19 fiscal year, mostly in western and northern India as east and south were barely connected with the pipeline grid. The consumption does not reflect demand as some demand centres do not have access to gas.
 A Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) demand assessment in 2012-13 had stated that gas demand will grow significantly at a compounded annual growth rate of 6.8 per cent from 242.6 mmscmd in 2012-13 to 746 mmscmd in 2029-30.
 ICF has been asked to study gas demand in different regions as well as the ideal locations for constructing liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals, he said, adding the consulting firm would also look at the pipeline network needed to connect the gas source to users.
 "We closely studied the Gujarat model where the share of natural gas in the energy basket is the highest in the country at 25-26 per cent. And one remarkable feature we found was that the state administration under its then chief minister Narendra Modi embarked on laying of a massive grid of gas pipeline that crisscrosses the state," he said.
 This network aided increased usage of gas as well as made Gujarat home to the maximum number of LNG import terminals.
 "The report of ICF will help in a great deal of planning," he said. "Once we have a comprehensive assessment of demand and the routes where the pipelines are to be laid, we can invite bids for the construction of such lines."
 The study would also point out the ideal location of the LNG import terminals and user industry can plan projects accordingly.
 India currently has six LNG import terminals -- Dahej, Hazira and Mundra in Gujarat, Dabhol in Maharashtra, Kochi in Kerala and Ennore in Tamil Nadu.
 While the LNG import capacity could more than double to 66 million tonnes by 2020-21, pipeline distribution infrastructure needs to expand to drive offtake.
 LNG makes up about half of India's gas consumption.
 LNG terminals are planned through the east and west coastlines to drive gas import and consumption.
 The gas demand is largely led by industrial and city-gas distribution consumers.
 Sarraf said gas consumption will rise once the city gas distribution networks for sale of CNG to automobiles and piped cooking gas to households expands to 400 districts.
 And with limited domestic resources, imports are the only option.
 "It would serve the industry if we are aware of the most appropriate locations for setting up an LNG terminal and the pipelines that need to be built," he said.
 Demand growth has faced impediments in the past due to weak domestic supply, poor pipeline infrastructure and a pricing policy that limits corporate investment.
 India's demand is one-fifth of China's. ANZ ABM

Oil regulator ropes in ICF for gas demand, infra assessment

Good morning. Phil Rosen here — it's good to be with you on a Monday morning, especially as the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-buy-twitter-breakup-bank-fees-how-much-2022-7">Elon Musk-Twitter drama continues to unspool</a>.More on that below, but first let's talk energy.Oil remains top of mind for both investors and everyday Americans, whether you're watching costs per barrel or prices at the pump. Much of Wall Street expects crude to go up, but one analyst is expecting the opposite to happen, in dramatic fashion. Here we go. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/10-things-opening-bell">Sign up here to get 10 Things Before the Opening Bell in your inbox.</a><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/oil-price-forecast-outlook-fall-without-recession-citi-russia-production-2022-7"></a>1. From Goldman Sachs to UBS, top firms have made bullish predictions for oil, with JPMorgan even eyeing <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/oil-price-forecast-outlook-fall-without-recession-citi-russia-production-2022-7">a worst-case scenario of $380 a barrel.</a>But Citi has taken the opposite view, and the investment bank's strategists <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/oil-price-forecast-outlook-fall-without-recession-citi-russia-production-2022-7">predict oil will take nosedive</a> by the end of the year. Francesco Martoccia, Citi's head of European commodities strategy, said oil prices could slump as low as $65 a barrel <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/oil-price-forecast-outlook-fall-without-recession-citi-russia-production-2022-7">if a recession takes hold</a>. Oil demand plays a key role, Martoccia explained, and Europe is a likely candidate to <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/oil-price-forecast-outlook-fall-without-recession-citi-russia-production-2022-7">cut back on energy consumption</a>. "When you look at the gas demand, for instance, from the industrial complex in Italy, or even the orders of one of the biggest industrial facilities, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/oil-price-forecast-outlook-fall-without-recession-citi-russia-production-2022-7">it's going down</a>," he said. The US has tried to do its part to alleviate the global energy crunch by tapping into the Strategic Petroleum Reserves. But <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/oil-us-strategic-petroleum-reserve-gulf-crude-exports-refinery-capacity-2022-7">there's been an unintended consequence</a> — America's been sending more crude to other countries.But, to oil analyst Matt Smith, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/oil-us-strategic-petroleum-reserve-gulf-crude-exports-refinery-capacity-2022-7">exporting barrels overseas can bring crude prices down</a> as effectively as keeping them in the US. "Part of the goal was in response to Russia, so those SPR barrels are meant to <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/oil-us-strategic-petroleum-reserve-gulf-crude-exports-refinery-capacity-2022-7">backfill Russian crude</a>," Smith said.In other news:<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/oil-price-outlook-recession-watch-risks-140-barrel-goldman-sachs-2022-7"></a><div type="image" title="Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)" height="512" width="1024" msid="92804357" hostid="261"></div>2. US stock futures fell early Monday, while oil prices dropped after Russia cut off natural gas supply to parts of Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to conduct maintenance. But the big news today is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-buy-twitter-breakup-bank-fees-how-much-2022-7">Elon Musk backing out of the Twitter deal</a> — shares of the social media company <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/twitter-stock-price-elon-musk-takeover-bid-investing-analysis-2022-7">dropped 6.9% in premarket trading</a> this morning. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-markets-today-us-futures-slide-inflation-data-oil-falls-2022-7">Here is your market wrap.</a>3. On the docket: National Grid plc, COSMOS Pharmaceutical Corp, and more, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/earnings-calendar">all reporting. </a>4. Barclay's acclaimed internet stock analyst Mario Lu said trouble could be ahead for unprofitable firms in the sector. Recession risks are rising, and that's bad news for internet names, he explained. But these two companies look attractive with substantial upside — <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/internet-stocks-to-buy-upside-barclays-analyst-mario-lu-2022-7">and one in particular could surge 106%</a>.5. Europe's scramble for gas is depriving poorer nations from getting enough amid the global energy crunch. The continent has ramped up liquefied natural gas imports by 49% this year, as countries like India, Bangladesh, and Brazil have had to slash purchases. As one analyst told the Wall Street Journal: <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/europe-gas-crisis-lng-supply-poorer-nations-ukraine-war-russia-2022-7">"The European gas crisis is sucking the world dry of LNG."</a>6. Goldman Sachs forecasts that oil will hit $140 a barrel. Investors are overplaying recession risks, and the bank's analysts said commodities traders are worrying too much about a downturn. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/oil-price-outlook-recession-watch-risks-140-barrel-goldman-sachs-2022-7">Goldman doesn't think a collapse in crude demand is in the cards. </a>7. Bonds aren't doing what they normally would in a bear market. That's according to top strategist Melissa Brown, who told Insider that aggressive rate hikes are changing the dynamic in the debt market. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/bonds/stocks-bear-market-economy-outlook-inflation-fed-interest-rates-2022-7">She explained why bonds are looking more attractive than stocks in the current landscape.</a>8. This batch of stocks have some of the most stable earnings on the market. And together they are set to be a magnet for investors' cash amid a broad economic slowdown, according to Morgan Stanley. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-picks-to-buy-recession-earnings-outperform-market-morgan-stanley-2022-7">See the list of 37 companies here.</a>9. A top-4% fund manager is keeping nearly half his portfolio in cash because he thinks there's more weakness ahead for stocks and the economy. He sees several key risks still ahead — <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-crash-investing-bear-rally-top-fund-manager-strategy-2022-7">but he shared what it will take for him to change his mind and turn bullish once again</a>.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hiring-trends-jobs-report-june-labor-market-recovery-unemployment-rate-2022-7"></a><div type="image" title="job losses in US recessions" height="1040" width="1240" msid="92804359" hostid="261"></div>10. The US is right around the corner from recovering the jobs lost during the pandemic. After Friday's jobs data, the country is just 524,000 payrolls away from returning to pre-COVID levels. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hiring-trends-jobs-report-june-labor-market-recovery-unemployment-rate-2022-7">The rebound has been drastically different from that of the Great Recession. </a>Keep up with the latest <keyword id="11893875" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="markets" source="Orion">markets</keyword> news throughout your day by checking out <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/therefresh">The Refresh from Insider</a>, a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom. <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/therefresh">Listen here.</a>Curated by Phil Rosen in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email <a href="mailto:prosen@insider.com">prosen@insider.com</a> or tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/philrosenn">@philrosenn</a>).Edited by Max Adams (<a href="https://twitter.com/maxradams">@maxradams</a>) in New York and Hallam Bullock (<a href="https://twitter.com/hallam_bullock">@hallam_bullock</a>) in London.

Oil prices could still crater with or without a recession. An analyst explains why.

New Delhi, Feb 24 () GAIL India Ltd, the country's largest gas utility, will invest Rs 1.05 lakh crore over the next five years to expand pipelines, lay city gas distribution network and raise petrochemical production capacity, its new chairman and managing director Manoj Jain said on Monday.Gas pipelines are planned to take the fuel to the east and northeast regions as well as to consumers in the south as part of the government push to raise the share of natural gas in India's energy basket to 15 per cent by 2030 from the current 6.2 per cent, he said."We have planned a capex of Rs 45,000 to Rs 50,000 crore in laying pipelines, Rs 10,000 crore petrochemical capacity expansion and another Rs 40,000 crore for city gas distribution (CGD) business," he told reporters here.GAIL's push for infrastructure creation is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of creating a gas-based economy that is less reliant on polluting fuels for meeting its energy needs.India currently consumes some 160 million standard cubic meters of gas per day and the consumption has to rise to 600 mmscmd to reach 15 per cent share in the energy mix, and GAIL is laying the infrastructure to help achieve that.At present, GAIL operates 12,160-km of pipeline network and markets two-thirds of all-natural gas sold in the country. It will add about 7,000 km of pipeline length in the next five years, Jain said.The company is scaling up on liquefied natural gas (LNG) import capacity. Besides owning a part of Petronet LNG Ltd, India's biggest liquid gas importer, it also owns and operates a 5 million tonnes LNG import facility at Dabhol in Maharashtra."We have awarded the contract for construction of a breakwater at Dabhol to L&amp;T and this should get completed in two-and-half-years. The completion will help operate the Dabhol terminal at its full capacity of 5 million tonnes per annum," he said.Currently, operations are restricted during monsoon months as high tide could damage ships carrying gas in its liquid form.Also, the company has booked capacity at Adani Group's upcoming terminal at Dhamra in Odisha, Jain noted.Domestic gas production meets just half of the country's demand and the rest has to be imported.Pipeline projects at hand include the ambitious Urja Ganga Project to take gas to Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, and Jharkhand as well as Kochi-Kootanad-Bangalore-Mangalore line; and Indradhanush North East Gas Grid.Besides pipelines, GAIL is also expanding city gas distribution (CGD) networks for retailing of CNG to automobiles and piped natural gas to household kitchens, he said, adding investments are also planned for the expansion of Pata petrochemical plant in Uttar Pradesh as well as converting a LPG recovery unit at Usar in Maharashtra into 5,00,000 tonnes Polypropylene plant.GAIL is looking to put up 400 CNG stations and give out a record 10 lakh piped natural gas (PNG) connections to household kitchens in the next 3-5 years.The company is building a 2,655-km gas pipeline from Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in West Bengal, Bokaro in Jharkhand and Dhamra in Odisha. Jagdishpur-Haldia &amp; Bokaro-Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) project, also known as the 'Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga' project, was inaugurated by the Prime Minister in July 2015.GAIL has commenced city gas operations in all the six geographical areas (GAs), including in Patna and Bhubaneshwar, that was awarded to it along the Urja Ganga route, Jain said.The pipeline will be extended to Guwahati by laying an additional 750-km line. At Guwahati, it would interconnect with the upcoming 1,500-km 'Indradhanush' pipeline network conceived to operate in the northeast region by the public sector oil and gas majors.GAIL will also lay a 600 km Srikakulam-Angul natural gas pipeline. ANZ BAL

GAIL to invest Rs 1.05 lakh cr to create infra for gas-based economy

New Delhi, Dec 30 () Oil regulator PNGRB is seeking to rationalise natural gas pipeline tariff structure so as to increase usage of environment-friendly fuel by aligning charges paid for transporting the fuel with the best global practices.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) is seeking bids for the appointment of consultants for the job, saying the government has envisaged ushering into a gas-based economy by increasing the share of the fuel in primary energy mix of the country from current level of about 6 per cent to 15 per cent by 2030.
This is to be done by increasing the availability of natural gas by enhancing domestic gas production, encouraging the import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), completion of national gas pipeline grid (NGG) and speedier roll out of city gas distribution networks, it said.
Presently, the country has a network of 16,981-km of pipelines, with each having a different tariff. The present tariffs policy provides for lower transportation charges in the area closer to the source of gas and this progressively increases that leads to a scenario where the users in hinterland pay extra than those on the coast.
"PNGRB proposes to hire a consultancy firm to provide assistance in analyzing different options for rationalization of natural gas pipeline tariff structure, reviewing international practices adopted on natural gas pipeline tariff design/ determination in USA, Australia, Japan, Russia, UK, and EU nations, and suggest the best-suited tariff mechanism in Indian perspective," the regulator said.
In the tender inviting bids, it said the consultant will also review current regulations and draft of new proposed regulations.
The move by PNGRB follows the government in October seeking a concept paper on rationalization of natural gas pipeline tariff structure and framing new tariff regulations.
The consultant will have to review international practices and identify the challenges present tariff regime in India poses to the growth of pipeline infrastructure.
"A matrix will be created to identify a model best suited for the Indian scenario," it said, adding the tariff structure needs to provide reasonable returns to entities building pipelines and promote the development of the gas infrastructure, while at the same time developing a pan-India gas market.
The public consultation will be done on the tariff structure proposed by the consultant, following which IT-based tools will be developed for implementation of the regulations, it added.
This exercise is in parallel to the mandate PNGRB has given to global consultancy ICF for carrying out an assessment of India's natural gas demand and the infrastructure needed to unleash the country's massive pent-up requirement, its Chairman Dinesh K Sarraf said.
Natural gas -- which has far lower emissions compared to alternate liquid fuels such as petrol and diesel used in automobiles and naphtha and coal burned in factories -- makes up for just 6.2 per cent of all forms of energy consumed in the country. This compares to a global average of 24 per cent.
One reason for the low use of environment-friendly fuel is inadequate domestic gas production and the lack of infrastructure, particularly pipelines to carry the fuel to end-users.
"We have engaged ICF to do a comprehensive assessment of demand and infrastructure needed," Sarraf said, adding the report is expected by mid-2020.
India consumed 166 million standard cubic meters per day of gas during the 2018-19 fiscal year, mostly in western and northern India as east and south were barely connected with the pipeline grid. The consumption does not reflect demand as some demand centres do not have access to gas.
ICF has been asked to study gas demand in different regions as well as the ideal locations for constructing liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals, he said, adding the consulting firm would also look at the pipeline network needed to connect the gas source to users. ANZ ANZ BAL
BAL

Oil regulator seeks consultant to rationalise gas pipeline tariff

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Reuters</div></div></div>Oil has crashed.But a short-term drop in the price of oil is nothing compared to the end of demand for oil as we know it.And that is what Bernstein Research is now talking about.Bernstein said ina note that the end of oil as we know it is coming in 2030. It's not going to be a linear, slow burn that's already started. Demand will actually come back a little bit over the next decade. "Despite these uncertainties, a key conclusion from our analysis is that demand growth through to 2020 will be stronger than the previous decade. For investors who equate the slowdown in China with the end of the commodity super-cycle, the resilience in demand could be a surprise. The cure for low prices is low prices."Prices aren't going to recover to what we saw before last year's crash. Bernstein thinks that triple digit oil isn't something we'll see "anytime soon." Instead prices will level off around $60-$70 until the end of the decade.We'll then see a final push of demand beyond 2020, until it peaks after 2030.And then that's all folks.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Bernstein Research</div></div></div>Of course, a few years ago everyone was talking about peak oil supply, the moment when the world would run out of oil. Bernstein is obviously talking about the exact opposite - about a world where people don't really want oil anymore.This situation will be driven by three factors, according to the report. First, developed nations will slowly ween themselves off of oil over the next decade. The West, Bernstein argues, actually hit peak oil in 2005.At the same time, though, emerging market demand will continue to grow, especially from China and India. That's where that push in 2020 is going to come from.But there will be a few factors working to level out that demand growth. Increased fuel efficiency and the diversification of fuels used to power the world will keep prices below the peaks we saw over the last decade. This includes everything from LNG to diesel to electric vehicles.And of course, then there's climate change, meaning that there are policy risks to the continued consumption of oil.That's the end of oil as we know it. Do you feel fine? <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-history-banks-finance-markets-ed-morris-2016-4">THE STORY OF GOLDMAN SACHS: From foot peddlers to a powerhouse</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="NxNWJ1MjE6u0RxXow5D79vSG1wtQyHQT" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

The end of oil as we know it

<div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kawaiikiri/8477606980/sizes/k/">Kawaii Kiri / Flickr, CC</a></div></div>
Much attention has been given to the competition between India and China for far-flung African resources. But perhaps the most tempting energy sources for each lie closer to home, in the Caspian region and Russia. It is here that much of the recent rivalry has been staged. Several recent Indian failures, in which firms from the subcontinent lost out to Chinese companies in deals in Russia and Central Asia, underline the extent of the mismatch between them.
In recent years Chinese national oil and gas firms have made deep inroads in Russia and the Caspian, signing long-term oil and gas supply agreements. Exports via the Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline are rising (they were up by 14% in 2013); the Chinese spur of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline makes China a 1m-barrel market for Russian crude oil; and China has overtaken Russia as the main customer for Turkmenistan's natural gas. China's success in locking in access to these resources owes to geopolitics coupled with simple accidents of geography, its infrastructure advantages, as well as superior financial clout and the large and growing scope of its energy needs.
Shared borders with Russia and Central Asia, and stable relationships with these states, underpin China's lead over India (although India also enjoys strong ties with Russia). This is embodied in the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, a Beijing-headquartered, security-focused group bringing together Central Asian countries, Russia and China in a single forum, at which India is a mere observer (like Pakistan, it wants to become a full member). Compare this with the situation facing India as it seeks access to Russian and Caspian oil and gas.
Blocking the path of potential pipelines reaching India from Central Asia or Russia is Pakistan and, beyond that, Afghanistan. Thus, India's rivalry with Pakistan, and instability in Afghanistan, erect high barriers to a Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, the long-discussed route designed to bring Caspian hydrocarbons to India. But foreign oil majors are unlikely to invest in the project given the current political and security climate across the region; Turkmenistan's unwillingness to allow overseas companies to book onshore reserves further deters them. For the same reasons, a recent proposal to lay an oil pipeline from Russia to India running parallel to the TAPI pipeline is equally likely to founder.
<h2>Money matters</h2>
In explaining why China holds the upper hand in its energy rivalry with India, superior Chinese commercial firepower is at least as important as politics. With weightier coffers than their Indian counterparts, and benefitting from better co-ordinated government support, Chinese oil companies can offer bigger and better terms. These include extra inducements, such as loans and access to the Chinese market.
China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Turkmenistan's national oil company, Turkmengas, aim to boost Chinese imports of Turkmenistan's natural gas to 65m cu metres/year by 2020. This target was tied to financing for the development of gas resources in Turkmenistan, and followed at least US$8bn in Chinese loans linked to long-term gas supplies in recent years. Similar agreements with Russia have featured "pre-payment" clauses and other financial boons. For example, in March 2013 the China Development Bank (CDB), a giant state policy bank, agreed to lend US$2bn to Rosneft, Russia's state oil firm.
China has brought its financial armoury to bear twice in the past year to trump India in bids for two mega-projects. In September CNPC saw off Indian competition to buy an 8% stake, worth US$5bn, in Kazakhstan's massive but troubled Kashagan oilfield. (A few months earlier, India's flagship national oil company, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, or ONGC, had tried to buy the share directly from ConocoPhillips of the US; instead, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Oil and Gas intervened to acquire the interest itself, before selling it to CNPC.) The existence of the Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline, facilitating exports, partly explains why Turkmenistan chose CNPC over ONGC. But the decisive factor was surely CNPC's ability to secure the Chinese government's financial backing, to the tune of US$3bn, for the project's second-phase development.
A similar rout occurred in June when CNPC trumped ONGC's bid for a 20% stake in the US$20bn Yamal liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Arctic, where it will partner with Russia's Novatek and Total of France. Novatek later signed a 15-year LNG supply agreement with CNPC for at least 3m tonnes/year after Yamal comes online in 2017. Once again, Chinese capital, rather than geopolitical muscle or technical expertise, appears to have made the difference: choosing CNPC opens the way to soliciting credit from CDB and several Chinese commercial lenders.
The Indian state, on the other hand, has been unable or unwilling to offer such preferential terms. In fact, its oil and gas corporations, including ONGC, struggle to raise capital themselves. During the past five years they have reportedly spent just US$13.6bn on buying up overseas assets, compared with Chinese outlays of US$107bn, according to data published in October 2013 by Bloomberg.
<h2>Market competition</h2>
Finally, foreign suppliers' decision to sell to China and not India amounts to a bet on the outlook for Chinese energy demand. The Economist Intelligence Unit estimates that China consumed more than two-and-a-half times as much oil and gas in 2013 as India did. Unsurprisingly, Chinese hydrocarbon imports are far greater than India's.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image">The Economist</div></div></div>
Moreover, China's oil and gas market is set to become even more alluring compared with that of India. Our industry forecasts suggest that Chinese consumption of oil and gas will expand by nearly 90% in 2011-20, whereas India's will rise by a little less than 50%. This is yet another reason why energy companies and officials in Russia and the Caspian will continue to view China as a more favourable customer than India.
If Indian oil companies have any call for optimism, it stems from CNPC's recent political difficulties. A corruption scandal has hit the upper echelons of the company, which has also been criticised for paying too much for overseas assets that bring little direct benefit to China. (Much of the output from foreign properties owned by Chinese national oil companies is sold into the global market, rather than being shipped back to China, and makes up a relatively minor proportion of the country's total imports.)
The Chinese government will continue to underwrite overseas asset purchases in the name of shoring up China's energy security. But state support for loans-for-oil packages seems likely to falter somewhat, giving other oil majors the chance to pick up more international assets. If Indian firms reap the rewards, it will not be because of advances in their own competitiveness, but rather thanks to a partial Chinese retreat.
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The Thirsty Dragon Is Beating The Sleeping Elephant

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>A careful observer might note the chunky double glazing on the elegant windows and the heat pump whirring outside the basement entrance. From the outside the five-storey house in London's posh Notting Hill district looks like any other. Inside, though, it is full of new technologies that aim to make it a net exporter of power. They exemplify many of the shifts now under way that are making energy cleaner, more plentiful, cheaper to store, easier to distribute and capable of being used more intelligently. The house in Notting Hill is a one-off, paid for by its green multimillionaire owner. But the benefits of recent innovations can be reaped by everybody.
That makes a welcome change from the two issues that have dominated the debate about energy in the past few decades: scarcity and concerns about the environment. Modern life is based on the ubiquitous use of fossil fuels, all of which have big disadvantages. Coal, the cheapest and most abundant, has been the dirtiest, contributing to rising emissions. Oil supplies have been vulnerable to geopolitical shocks and price collusion by producers. Natural gas has mostly come by pipeline--and often with serious political baggage, as in the case of Europe's dependence on Russia. Nuclear power is beset by political troubles, heightened by public alarm after the accident at Japan's Fukushima power station in 2011. Renewables such as wind and solar--beneficiaries of lavish subsidies--have so far played a marginal role. The main worries were whether enough energy would be available for power generation, transport, heating, cooling and industry; and if so, whether it would cook the planet.
Now new factors are in play. Technological change has broken the power of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to keep the oil price high. Hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") and horizontal drilling have turned America into a big oil producer, with 4m barrels a day coming from sources which used to be deemed "unconventional". The boom in producing oil and gas from shale has yet to spread to other countries. America enjoys some big advantages, such as open spaces, accommodating laws, a well-developed supply chain and abundant finance for risky projects. So far it has refrained from exporting its crude oil or natural gas, but exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) will start this year. Increased trade in LNG will create a more global gas market and greater resilience of supply, undermining Russia's pipeline monopoly in Europe. America is already exporting lightly refined oil.
An increase in supply, a surprising resilience in production in troubled places such as Iraq and Libya, and the determination of Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies not to sacrifice market share in the face of falling demand have led to a spectacular plunge in the oil price, which has fallen by half from its 2014 high. This has dealt a final blow to the notion of "peak oil". There is no shortage of hydrocarbons in the Earth's crust, and no sign that mankind is about to reach "peak technology" for extracting them. But the fall has created turmoil in financial markets as energy companies lay off workers and cut or delay investment projects.
The implications are more complicated than the headlines suggest. For a start, low prices do not instantly cause supply curbs or make investment dry up. Even costly projects do not stop pumping when the oil price falls. Fracking is a small-scale business. New projects can be halted quickly and restarted when the price picks up. American frackers are now the world's swing producers, reacting to price fluctuations in a way that was once the prerogative of the Saudis. On a 15- to 25-year time horizon, today's slide in the oil price needs to be set against the likely long-term trend. Futures markets are betting that the oil price will be back to $90 per barrel in the early 2020s.
For now, though, low oil prices put money in consumers' pockets and give a bit of breathing space to governments, making it easier to cut fossil-fuel subsidies (and perhaps even tax carbon emissions). In 2013 some $550 billion was spent on subsidising fossil fuels, a policy of extraordinary wrongheadedness that favours the rich, distorts economies and aggravates pollution.
A bigger question on many minds is the effect of rock-bottom oil prices on the shift towards low-carbon energy. Solar, wind and other renewables have recently benefited from unprecedented investments: an average of $260 billion a year worldwide over the past five years. Long, and wrongly, decried as mere boondoggles, they have begun to show real commercial promise in places as diverse as India, Hawaii, and parts of Africa where the climate is favourable, costs are low and other sources of power are expensive. Renewables capacity is rising even as subsidies are falling. China, for example, has already installed nearly half the 200 gigawatts (GW) of wind power it had been planning for 2020, so it is sharply cutting back the subsidies it introduced in 2009.
But the relationship is not always straightforward. Renewable electricity mainly competes with gas- and coal-fired power stations, not with oil. In North America, low oil prices may, paradoxically, lead to higher natural gas prices. Less fracking means there will be less of the associated gas that is produced along with shale oil. More broadly, much of the support for renewables has been political, and there is little sign that this is changing. Worries about climate change continue to ensure that clean energy enjoys strong political support in many developed countries. Whereas shares in oil companies have in recent months fallen along with the price, the S&amp;P Global Clean Energy Index, which covers the industry's 30 biggest listed companies, has barely budged.
The economics--and particularly the whopping subsidies of the past decade paid out in countries such as Germany and Britain--remain contested. Solar and wind are intermittent, so they are truly useful only if the power they produce can be stored; otherwise they need back-up capacity, typically from fossil-fuel sources. Dieter Helm, an energy expert at Oxford University, says that subsidies for primitive green technology, such as the current generation of solar panels, have been a "colossal mistake". It would have been much better, he argues, to invest in proven technologies such as electrical interconnectors (linking Britain and Norway, for example) and support research into new kinds of solar power, such as films that can be applied to any outside surface and technologies that use a wider chunk of the spectrum.
Bits of the green-energy world are wilting under the impact of low oil prices. Some biofuels have become less attractive. The same is true for electric cars, which currently make up less than 1% of America's light-vehicle fleet. Bloomberg New Energy Finance reckons that with petrol at $3.34 a gallon ($0.87 per litre), that share could rise to 9% by 2020. With petrol at $2.09, it would go up to just 6%. At the same time countries and companies thinking of switching from oil-fired power generation to renewables may reconsider. Saudi Arabia, for example, was planning to invest $110 billion in 41 GW of solar capacity by 2032, but may now want to think again.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>
<h3>Take The Long View</h3>
Yet the long-term trend is clear. In particular solar electricity, and ways of storing it, are getting ever cheaper and better, as this special report will show. Sanford C. Bernstein, a research firm, sees "global energy deflation" ahead. Most of the investment decisions in the fossil-fuel industry are taken a decade or two ahead. The International Energy Agency (IEA), an intergovernmental organisation often criticised for its focus on fossil fuels, says the world will need to stump up about $23 trillion over the next 20 years to finance continued fossil-fuel extraction, but the prospect of much cheaper solar power and storage capabiliy may put investors off. The story may be not so much what falling oil prices mean for clean energy than what the prospect of clean energy will mean for the oil price.
Old energy industries are changing too. Gas will become more abundant and easier to trade. Even coal, the most widely used and so far most polluting fossil fuel, is not inherently dirty. It does not need to be burned but can be cooked instead to produce methane, which can then be used as a fuel or in petrochemicals. Modern coal-fired plants, though pricey, are far cleaner than the belching monsters of the past. The heat they produce is used, not wasted as in many traditional power plants. The emissions are scrubbed of the oxides (of nitrogen and sulphur) that eat away at bodies and buildings. In some projects--albeit for now on a tiny scale--the CO{-2} is also captured for storage or use. Such improvements could make coal as relatively clean as other fossil fuels, though they make commercial sense only if the rules are tilted in their favour. But if the price of such techniques comes down and the cost of pollution goes up, clean coal could be competitive.
Nuclear power, in theory, is a source of cheap, dependable, constant electricity. In practice it is too costly for private investors to back without government guarantees, and its perceived danger makes it unpopular in some European countries and in Japan. One of several flaws in Germany's Energiewende--supposedly a big shift to green technology--was the hurried abandonment of the country's nuclear capacity. Besides, many of the world's existing nuclear power stations will have to close in the coming two decades. Barring a political shift or a technological breakthrough--perhaps in small, mass-produced nuclear plants--it is hard to see the fortunes of nuclear energy reviving.
Demand for energy is likely to hold up for some time yet, mainly thanks to rapid economic growth in emerging economies. The IEA predicts that over the next 25 years it will rise by 37%. Yet increasing efficiency in energy use and changes in behaviour have meant that the hitherto well-established link between economic growth and energy use is weakening.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>
<h3>More For Less</h3>
America's economy, for example, has grown by around 9% since 2007, whereas demand for finished petroleum products has dropped by nearly 11%. In Germany household consumption of electricity is now lower than it was in 1990. Global demand used to rise by 2% a year, but the rate is slowing. Even emissions in China, the world's largest and dirtiest energy consumer, may peak by 2030, thanks to huge investments in new clean-coal power generation, nuclear and renewable energy and long-distance transmission lines. Simon Daniel, an energy expert, sees two conflicting trends: on one hand greater efficiency, local production and storage, on the other increased consumption from the billions of new devices that will be hooked up to the "internet of things".
On current form the emissions from oil, gas and coal would, on most models, make it impossible to keep the rise in global temperatures below 2¢ªC by the year 2100; the most likely outcome would be a 4¢ªC rise, which has prompted calls for most of the world's remaining hydrocarbons to be left in the ground. The IEA estimates the investment needed for "decarbonising" future electricity production alone at an astounding $44 trillion. The best hope of avoiding that much warming is a huge increase in energy efficiency.
One big component of that task will be to adapt the existing stock of buildings. Amory Lovins, one of the foremost prophets of energy efficiency and founder of Rocky Mountain Institute, a think-tank and consultancy based in Colorado, believes that the scope for improvement remains huge. He has long preached that proper building design and energy storage can eliminate the need for air-conditioning and space heating in most climates, and illustrates this by growing bananas in his own house, on a windswept mountainside in Colorado where winter temperatures can drop to -44¢ªC. Eliminating the heating system for his house, he says, saved more money than he spent on insulation and fancy windows. His optimism is slowly winning converts.
Despite all the obstacles, pretty much all the technology the world needs for a clean, green future is already available. As A.T. Kearney, a consultancy, notes in a recent report for the World Energy Council, a think-tank: "Energy-efficiency potentials combined with renewable-energy sources and shale-gas potentials provide an abundance of energy that can be made accessible with currently available technologies."
Transmission costs for electricity are plunging, thanks to solid-state technology, which makes efficient direct-current circuitry safer and more flexible. Power grids which were previously isolated can now be connected: one audacious plan involves a 700-mile, £4 billion ($6 billion) link between Britain and Iceland. Such projects are costly up front, but offer big long-term savings from cheaper power, better storage and increased resilience.
More effective management of supply and demand also offers scope for big savings, as this special report will show. Sensors can now collect vast amounts of data about energy use, and computer power and algorithms can crunch that information to offer incentives to customers to curb consumption at peak times and increase it when demand is low. At the same time business models which can turn a profit from thrifty energy use are developing, and capital markets are waking up to their potential.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>
That splendidly energy-efficient house in Notting Hill demonstrates just how much can be done right now, even if it does not yet come cheap. Its owner, Michael Liebreich, founded a business called New Energy Finance, which he sold to Bloomberg, a financial-information company, in 2009. He has spent tens of thousands of pounds on making his home thrifty, resilient and productive.
The house is no stranger to energy revolutions. In 1865 its original builders installed a state-of-the-art delivery and storage system: a coal hole in the pavement, sealed by a handsome cast-iron hatch. Gas and then electric lighting, central heating and hot water came later. But the revolution under its current owner is the biggest yet. Despite the airtight insulation the rooms feel airy. Specially designed chimney cowls suck stale, moist air from the house while a heat exchanger keeps the thermal energy indoors.
The house now requires remarkably little input of energy. Gas and electricity bills for a dwelling of this size would normally run to at least £3,500 ($5,500) a year, but once everything is in place the owner expects not only to spend nothing but to receive a net payment for the electricity he produces. On the roof is a large array of solar panels which deliver two kilowatts (kW) of electricity on sunny days. Another source of power is a 1.5kW fuel cell in the former coal bunker. It runs on gas, with over 80% efficiency--far more than a conventional power station or boiler. The electricity from these two sources powers the household's (ultra-frugal) domestic appliances and its low-energy lighting, as well as a heat pump (a refrigerator in reverse) that provides underfloor heating. A water tank stores surplus heat. Spare electricity is fed back into the grid.
Mr Liebreich does not claim that his house is easily copied, but he insists that through "thinning mist" the future is visible. "The only things that are inherently costly are the thermodynamic process and resource depletion--for everything else costs have come down, are coming down and will come down in future," he says. In short, most of the forces changing the energy market are pushing in the right direction.

You Searched For "lng consumption india" and got 12 results

Russia's natural gas cuts have sparked LNG hoarding that could drive up prices further and worsen shortages

Brian Evans

GAIL ferries LNG in trucks over 1,700 km to fuel gas demand in east

PTI

GAIL scouts for acquisition to augment renewable portfolio, to foray into hydrogen

PTI

IEA slams India's gas pricing policy, says it reduces incentives for producers to raise supply

PTI

US crude oil exports to Europe now surpass shipments to Asia as Russia's war on Ukraine reorders global energy markets

Brian Evans

Oil regulator ropes in ICF for gas demand, infra assessment

PTI

Oil prices could still crater with or without a recession. An analyst explains why.

Phil Rosen

GAIL to invest Rs 1.05 lakh cr to create infra for gas-based economy

PTI

Oil regulator seeks consultant to rationalise gas pipeline tariff

PTI

The end of oil as we know it

Linette Lopez

The Thirsty Dragon Is Beating The Sleeping Elephant

The Economist

Energy Is Becoming Cleaner And More Plentiful - Whatever The Price Of Oil

The Economist

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