This area deals with global geopolitical trends of the oil, gas and coal sectors, with a focus on short and longer term trends in demand and supply.
South Korea is a hydrogen (H2) frontrunner. The world’s first commercial fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) was launched by the South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai (Tucson i×35) in 2013. POSCO Energy, South Korea’s largest private energy producer, completed the world’s largest fuel...
East Africa has the potential to experience a gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) export boom in the coming years due to several projects that have been released.
China’s 2018 energy consumption data capture the ambiguity of Beijing’s attitude toward climate change. Energy demand rose by 3.5% to 3,155 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe), with an increase of coal consumption (though its share in the overall energy mix is decreasing) and an expected...
The major transformations that are occurring on the Chinese gas market have profound repercussions on the global gas and LNG markets, especially on trade, investment and prices. In just two years, China has become the world’s first gas importer and is on track to become the largest importer of...
China’s gas industry has been moving into a new era. China’s natural gas demand has skyrocketed amid a state campaign that encourages coal-to-gas switching. In just two years, China added 75 billion cubic meters (bcm) to global gas demand, the equivalent of the UK gas market, the second...
For the second consecutive year, the coal sector registered good results in 2018. Global coal demand continues to increase (+0.7% in 2018), reversing the trend observed in 2015-16. Coal accounted for 26% of global primary energy consumption, maintaining its position as the second-largest...
In most of the pathways that limit global warming to 1.5°C, capture of CO2 from fossil-fuel or biomass-based installations and its long-term geological storage (carbon capture and storage - CCS and bio-energy with carbon capture and storage - BECCS) plays a crucial role.
Ten years after the January 2009 gas crisis, Russian-Ukrainian gas relations are at another turning point: the then concluded contracts are terminating on 31 December 2019. While trilateral talks brokered by the European Commission (EC) have started in July 2018, the real negotiations about...
At a time when the European Union (EU) is discussing its long-term climate strategy and drafting new legislation to foster the decarbonization of its gas sector, a close look at the experience of Denmark, Germany and Italy with renewable gas production can provide valuable lessons.
The annual World Energy Outlook is the International Energy Agency’s flagship publication, used as a reference by both governments and the energy industry. This year’s edition updates the outlooks for all fuels, technologies and regions, based on the latest market data, policy initiatives and...
Ukraine’s post-Soviet transformation has entered a new stage with the election of President Zelensky and his ability to gain a parliamentary majority.
Egypt has been undertaking bold and comprehensive reforms of its energy sector: liberalization and progressive removal of fossil fuel subsidies, alongside a deployment of renewable energy sources. At the same time, super large gas discoveries and rapid and efficient investments have...
2019 sets the stage for a reassessment of the role of natural gas in the European energy transition. The proposed coal phase out in Germany may foster its role in power generation. France has pledged to give biomethane a try while expecting a cost cut, and grid injection projects are booming...
The United States (US) are currently ramping up exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and new export projects are being developed. President Trump’s energy dominance and trade deficit reduction policy relies strongly on promoting US LNG exports. At the same time, Gazprom has been...
Mediterranean countries have to embrace the challenge of balancing the energy needs of their growing populations and economies, with energy security considerations and environmental sustainability commitments, in line with the recent Paris Agreement on climate.
Ukraine’s energy sector reforms are progressing yet the Naftogaz restructuring, the future role for gas transit and relations with Gazprom are key challenges.
Expanding Russia-China energy relations represent one of the most important global energy market developments in the past ten years, and Chinese investments in Russian energy projects and companies have been growing. The strategic dimension of Russia-China relations has gained additional...
The Gazprom-Naftogaz arbitration procedure totalling around USD 125 billion in mutual claims at the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce has finally come to an end following two awards from December 2017 and February 2018. Naftogaz has won a net USD 2.56 billion, the take...
The European Union has strongly committed to reduce greenhouse gases emissions for the next decades. In this perspective, renewable energy sources will constitute a great support, but natural gas is also expected to play a key role as a transition fuel to decarbonize the...
The global economy is shaken by the consequences of the Covid-19 outbreak in major global economies which increasingly impacts demand, supply chains and trade.
The prospects for biogas in Europe look bright, with conservative estimates pointing to a tenfold increase in production by 2030. However, the industry will need to stay rooted in the local economy and come clean on environmental credentials if it wants to avoid a green backlash, analysts say....
Energy has been at the heart of Ukraine's troubles with Russia over the past two decades, typically as a means for Moscow to pressure its former province. The pressure points have changed over the years – moving from a focus on direct supplies to transit through Ukraine – but the battle...
Energy has been at the heart of Ukraine's troubles with Russia over the past two decades, typically as a means for Moscow to pressure its former province. The pressure points have changed over the years – moving from a focus on direct supplies to transit through Ukraine – but the battle...
Over and again, legislators worldwide are confronting the same question: which technologies do we subsidise and support, when, by how much, and for how long. Get it right and those costs will reduce and should disappear once scale is reached. Solar and wind are on their way to proving...
Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega, director of Ifri’s Centre for Energy, discusses various issues related to the energy market, from the strategic move of Russia towards Saudi...
Total SA boss Patrick Pouyanne proved once again that he’ll go where other business leaders fear to tread. The storm in Saudi Arabia caused by the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was too much for the chief executive officers of Siemens AG and BlackRock Inc., who pulled out of...
President Trump is using tariffs and quotas as weapons in his trade dispute with China. Sylvie Cornot-Gandolphe and Jean-François Boittin of think tank the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) argue that his actions threaten US energy dominance worldwide.
In June, the alliance of producing countries decided to increase the output of crude oil, against the backdrop of a surge in prices and severe restrictions on imports to Venezuela and Iran, shaken by sanctions and economic difficulties
“US LNG exports will revolutionise international trade in LNG” according to a recently published report from French think-tank, Institut Francais des Relations Internationales (Ifri).
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