(Reuters) – Russian natural gas company Gazprom said on Saturday it was continuing gas shipments via Ukraine at an unchanged volume of 109.5 million cubic metres a day. NN: All shipments or Russain oil and natural gas have not declined. Oil shipments by tankers are DELAYED as the banks, shippers and insurance companies sort out payment…… NO ONE is going to stop the flow of Russian and gas. Because the west can’t live without it….. Does not seem to me sanctions on McDonalds big Macks and sales of Russian Vodka is going to deter Putin….
Finland starts much-delayed nuclear plant, brings respite to power market
https://youtu.be/aFii8busnWA
HELSINKI (Reuters) -Finland’s much-delayed Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor started test production on Saturday, operator TVO said, delivering power to the national grid which over time is expected to reduce the need for electricity imports and lead to lower prices. Plagued by technological problems that became the subject of lawsuits, the 1.6 gigawatt (GW) reactor had originally been due to open in 2009. It is Finland’s first new nuclear plant in over four decades and Europe’s first in almost 15 years. Olkiluoto 3 started test production at just over 0.1 gigawatt, a small fraction of its capacity, with a ramp-up to full, regular electricity output planned by the end of July. “OL3 significantly improves Finland’s electricity self-sufficiency and helps in achieving carbon neutrality goals,” operator Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) said in a statement.
Once fully operational, it is expected to meet 14% of Finland’s electricity demand, reducing the need for imports from Russia, Sweden and Norway.
“Olkiluoto 3 will decrease Finland’s import dependency and it will become a cheaper price zone,” Aurora Energy Research economist Alexander Esser told Reuters. Finland’s net imports of power averaged 13 terawatt hours (TWh) over the last few years, which should drop to 5-8 TWh by 2025 with Olkiluoto 3 in operation, Esser said. Nuclear power remains controversial in Europe, with some countries such as Germany phasing out reactors amid safety concerns, while others including France and Britain discussing new developments. TVO is owned by Finnish utility Fortum and smaller energy and forestry firms. Finland is the only Nordic country with a large power deficit, said Marius Holm Rennesund, a partner at Oslo-based consultancy Thema. Thema predicts that Finnish wholesale power prices will drop to 60 euro per megawatt hour (MWh) in 2023 from a predicted average of 70 euro/MWh in 2022, although the expected reduction will also come from lower gas prices. In 2024, Finnish wholesale power prices will likely fall further to 45 euros/MWh, Rennesund said.sFFFF NN: They are having a zen moment. Europe is getting a graphic live demonstrative of what happens when you surrender you energy independence to your enemy. England is about to reissue North Sea leases it cancelled and allow inshore fracking. Europe is reopening nuclear and allowing oil leases. Rising sea levels is not the urgent crises it was a few weeks ago. Fuck your carbon footprint. Its a lot better then Russian takes rolling down your street. Reality has set in. Europe is returning to nukes and domestic gas. The overall carbon footprint will be reduce dramatically.
U.S. spy agency probes sabotage of satellite internet during Russian invasion
https://youtu.be/z7w2NsS_HpY
(Reuters) – Western intelligence agencies are investigating a cyberattack by unidentified hackers that disrupted broadband satellite internet access in Ukraine coinciding with Russia’s invasion, according to three people with direct knowledge of the incident. Analysts for the U.S. National Security Agency, French government cybersecurity organization ANSSI, and Ukrainian intelligence are assessing whether the remote sabotage of a satellite internet provider’s service was the work of Russian-state backed hackers preparing the battlefield by attempting to sever communications. The digital blitz on the satellite service began on Feb. 24 between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m., just as Russian forces started going in and firing missiles, striking major Ukrainian cities including the capital, Kyiv. The consequences are still being investigated but satellite modems belonging to tens of thousands of customers in Europe were knocked offline, according to an official of U.S. telecommunications firm Viasat, which owns the affected network. The hackers disabled modems that communicate with Viasat Inc’s KA-SAT satellite, which supplies internet access to some customers in Europe, including Ukraine. More than two weeks later some remain offline, resellers told Reuters. What appears to be one of the most significant wartime cyberattacks publicly disclosed so far has piqued the interest of Western intelligence because Viasat acts as a defense contractor for both the United States and multiple allies. Government contracts reviewed by Reuters show that KA-SAT has provided internet connectivity to Ukrainian military and police units. Pablo Breuer, a former technologist for U.S. special operations command, or SOCOM, said knocking out satellite internet connectivity could handicap Ukraine’s ability to combat Russian forces. “Traditional land-based radios only reach so far. If you’re using modern smart systems, smart weapons, trying to do combined arms maneuvers, then you must rely on these satellites,” said Breuer. The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Moscow has repeatedly rejected allegations that it participates in cyberattacks. Viasat said in a statement that the disruption for customers in Ukraine and elsewhere was triggered by a “deliberate, isolated and external cyber event” but has yet to provide a detailed, public explanation of what happened. “The network is stabilized and we are restoring service and activating terminals as quickly as possible,” spokesperson Chris Phillips said in an email, adding that the company was prioritizing “critical infrastructure and humanitarian assistance.” The affected modems appeared to be completely inoperative, according to Jaroslav Stritecky, who runs Czech telecommunications company INTV. Normally, he said, the four status lights on the curved, SurfBeam 2 modems would indicate whether they were connected to the internet. After the attack, the lights on the Viasat-made devices would not turn on at all. The Viasat official said a misconfiguration in the “management section” of the satellite network had allowed the hackers remote access into the modems, knocking them offline. He said most of the affected devices would need to be reprogrammed either by a technician on site or at a repair depot and that some would have to be swapped out. The Viasat official wasn’t explicit about what the “management section” of the network referred to and declined to provide further details. KA-SAT and its associated ground stations, which Viasat purchased last year from European company Eutelsat, are still operated by a Eutelsat subsidiary. Eutelsat referred questions back to Viasat. Viasat has hired U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant, which specializes in tracking state-sponsored hackers, to investigate the intrusion, according to two people familiar with the matter. Spokespeople for the NSA, ANSSI, and Mandiant declined to comment. Viasat said government clients who procured services directly from the company were unaffected by the disruption. The KA-SAT network is operated, however, by a third party, which in turn farms out service through various distributors. Over the past several years Ukraine’s military and security services have purchased several different communications systems that run over Viasat’s network, according to contracts posted on ProZorro, a Ukrainian transparency platform. A message seeking comment from the Ukrainian military was not immediately returned. Some internet distributors are still waiting to replace their devices. Stritecky, the Czech telecom executive, said he did not blame Viasat. He recalled coming into work on the morning of the invasion and seeing a monitor showing regional satellite coverage in the Czech Republic, neighboring Slovakia, and Ukraine all in red. “It was immediately clear what happened,” he said. NN: We use the Vsat system in several of our European offices. Fortunately we have experienced no problems. Interestingly enough our Russia satellite (diversify or die) has at times suffered overload with traffic from the Russian military. Our Starlink system is near fiber speeds with no issuies.
The US and EU will revoke Russia’s “most-favoured nation” trade status.
Russian President Putin says there are positive shifts in talks with Ukraine
Commenting on the latest talks with Ukraine, “there are certain positive shifts, negotiators on our side tell me,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on Friday, as reported by Reuters. Putin refrained from sharing any additional details on the matter. Putin further noted that sanctions have only made them stronger in the past. Earlier in the day, Putin noted that they could allow volunteers to fight against Ukrainian forces and added that they have approved handing over captured arms to Russian-backed rebel fighters. Putin’s latest comment helped market mood improve. The US Dollar Index turned south with the initial reaction and erased its daily gains to turn flat near 98.50. Meanwhile, US stock index futures were up between 0.8% and 1%.
U.S. Will Not Fight War Against Russia in Ukraine: Biden
US President Joe Biden on Friday lashed at Russia asserting that Putin’s regime will pay a “severe price” if it used chemical weapons against Ukraine. “We will not fight a war against Russia in Ukraine. Direct confrontation between NATO and Russia is World War III — something we must strive to prevent,” Biden said. Biden announced new sanctions on Russian vodka, seafood, diamonds on top of other sanctions already in place against Russia. “The ban targets goods from several signature sectors of the Russian economy,” Biden said. The US president further said the United States and its allies will strip Russia of its “most favoured nation” trade status. “The United States and our allies and partners continue in lockstep to ramp up the economic pressures on Putin and to further isolate Russia on the global stage,” Biden said. The move comes as the UK sanctioned 386 Russian lawmakers in the Duma, the lower house of parliament. PM Johnson’s government forbade Russian parliamentarians to enter the UK and barred them from holding assets in the country. “We will not let up the pressure and will continue to tighten the screw on the Russian economy through sanctions,” UK foreign secretary Liz Truss said even as a slew of sanctions have been imposed on Russia after President Putin announced “special military operation” against Ukraine on February 24. UK had earlier frozen assets of Chelsea football club’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich amid crackdown on Russian oligarchs. Abramovich including seven other Russian oligarchs were put on the sanctions list in the UK.
Putin: There are positive shifts in talks with Ukraine
Commenting on the latest talks with Ukraine, “there are certain positive shifts, negotiators on our side tell me,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on Friday, as reported by Reuters. Putin refrained from sharing any additional details on the matter. Putin further noted that sanctions have only made them stronger in the past. Earlier in the day, Putin noted that they could allow volunteers to fight against Ukrainian forces and added that they have approved handing over captured arms to Russian-backed rebel fighters. Putin’s latest comment helped market mood improve. The US Dollar Index turned south with the initial reaction and erased its daily gains to turn flat near 98.50. Meanwhile, US stock index futures were up between 0.8% and 1%. NN: Putin has more people in his security services then in his army. And the control of the media in Russia has reached new heights…… But CNN breaking news and BBC and the like are also spinning the truth. Reality is the Ukraine civilians are suffering terribly. That is Putin style ware fare. The world did nothing as he pounded, gassed and burned the civilian populations of Chechnya and Syria into oblivion. And they were brave freedom fighters to. And their are millions of refugees. Despite the touching news stories the Ukrainians are getting their asses kicked…. Embargoes are a temporary inconvenience. No country under sanctions has folded….. From Cuba to Iran. Putin has had decades of sanctions and his biggest client the Chinese are doing more business with Russia then ever.Reality the world is really doing nothing to honor their guarantee to protect Ukraine when they foolishly gave up their nukes. No real military equipment, No nofly zone. No jets, no NATO membership. And not even a fast track into EU membership. They are a cooked goose. And all that is left is to arrange the best terms of surrender to the Russians… Bottom line this will soon over, The world ignores Syria and they will soon ignore the Ukraine… Sanctions will soon be quietly lifted. Because the world is desperate for Russian Oil and gas. And the lefty Louie’s of America are not going to open up the US energy production machine. That will have to wait until after the midterm elections and the power change 11 months from now… Ukraine does not even have 11 weeks.
Biden: US to increase oil production
With the war in Ukraine causing oil prices to soar, US President Joe Biden’s administration is treading a fine line between staying true to its commitment to clean energy, while seeking to ramp up petroleum production. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm called on oil producers to open the taps to deal with the immediate crisis, but said that does not undermine the longer term goal of weaning the country off fossil fuels. “We can walk and chew gum at the same time,” said on Wednesday at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. Industry participants bristled at the comment, saying the government’s energy and environmental policies had been creating issues for months before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused the most-recent surge in prices. “The Biden administration continues to blame everybody but themselves for the increase in gasoline prices,” said Phil Flynn, oil market analyst for Price Futures Group. “They were blaming supply chains issues and now they’re conveniently blaming (Russian President) Vladimir Putin,” despite steps like canceling permits for the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline and drilling moratoriums on federal land, he said. However, the White House has stressed that many of the permits already issued to oil companies have been left idle. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the Biden administration approved 3,557 oil and gas permits on federal lands in 2021, “far outpacing the (former president Donald) Trump administration’s first-year total of 2,658.” Gasoline prices have leapt to heights not seen since the 2008 global financial crisis, with the national average hitting $4.32 a gallon on Thursday, about $1 higher than before the invasion of Ukraine. Biden last week ordered the release of 30 million barrels from the strategic petroleum reserve in an attempt to nudge prices lower. Granholm said the country is on a “war footing,” which justified the need to boost supply to lower prices even while reaffirming Washington’s commitment to renewables. “We’re serious about decarbonizing while providing reliable energy that doesn’t depend on foreign adversaries,” she said. But critics continue to hammer Biden’s policies, including efforts to secure alternate sources to replace oil from Russia. “This administration wants to ramp up energy imports from Iran and Venezuela: That is the world’s largest state sponsor of terror and a thuggish South America dictator, respectively,” Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday. “They would rather buy from these people than buy from Texas, Alaska, and Pennsylvania.” The United States is the world’s largest oil producer and a net exporter thanks to the development of shale gas, but production has not yet returned to levels seen prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, which sharply curtailed demand. However, government policies do not fully explain the hurdles to ramping up output. Experts and industry executives caution that getting back to full speed, in particular the reopening of shale gas exploitations, cannot happen overnight. “It just takes time,” said oil market specialist Andy Lipow, noting that oil rig counts have been on the rise, climbing to 638 from 397 a year ago. “The public wants FedEx overnight delivery. It’s more like the stagecoach,” he said. Like many industries, oil companies also are facing a shortage of skilled labor. “We are in a really dire situation,” Occidental Petroleum CEO Vicki Hollub said at the CERAWeek conference, adding that supply chain challenges “makes any kind of attempt to grow now and at a rapid pace, very, very difficult.” NN: Biden and his friends of earth enemies of mankind still don’t get it. When Biden took office gasoline averaged $2.00 a gallon. Now its averaging $5.00 on the way ti $7.00. Most of this increase before Putin attacked the Ukraine. The good thing about democracies is the people who are slow at the switch can vote the bums out. And I predict in the upcoming midterms the Republicans will take the house and the senate. Here is another news flash love him or hate him Trumps odds of getting reelected president have shot way up,
US inflation hits record 7.9% in February
US urges oil, gas suppliers to raise production
HOUSTON – Any oil and gas company that can increase supply should do so quickly due to the growing energy crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Wednesday. Russia exports roughly four-million to five-million barrels of crude a day, more than any other nation other than Saudi Arabia. With global demand exceeding pre-pandemic levels, markets were already tight before the February 24 invasion and since then, prices have soared with global benchmark Brent crude this week touching $139/bbl, its highest since 2008. “In this moment of crisis we need more supply,” Granholm told attendees at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. “Right now we need oil and gas production to rise to meet current demand.”Granholm said the Biden administration has been reaching out to partners around the world to try to encourage additional output. On Wednesday, the United Arab Emirates, one of the most influential members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said it would consider raising output. “We favor production increases and will be encouraging OPEC to consider higher production levels,” Ambassador Yousuf Al Otaiba said in a statement tweeted by the UAE Embassy in Washington. Later in the day, however, UAE energy minister Suhail al-Mazrouei, said the country is committed to the OPEC+ agreement and its existing monthly production adjustment mechanism. OPEC and its allies has been slowly restoring 5.8 million barrels per day of crude supply cuts due to the pandemic at a rate of 400,000 bpd every month, but has so far resisted calls to raise that output, citing limited spare capacity. Granholm said President Joe Biden’s administration wants to act as a partner with the energy industry, which has complained about the White House’s push to hasten the transition to a lower-carbon economy. On Tuesday, Biden banned Russian oil imports, a move that received some praise from several energy executives at CERAWeek in Houston. The White House had already imposed a series of sanctions on Russia that were affecting its vast oil and gas industry since it invaded Ukraine. Granholm acknowledged that it was hard to balance the need for more oil and gas with the importance of transitioning to renewable energy to fight global warming. “We have to still reckon with the impact of climate change,” said Granholm, who previously was the governor of Michigan. “We can walk and chew gum at the same time.” The two largest US oil producers welcomed the secretary’s comments.The industry is focused on “providing affordable, reliable and ever cleaner energy to enable human progress,” said the Chevron vice president of Lower Carbon Energies, Jeff Gustavson. “Very happy to hear her say that. It is going to take time.” \In recent days, Granholm and other US officials have been more vocal about addressing the supply concerns as the administration has come under fire for rising fuel prices. “We have to responsibly increase short-term supply where we can now to stabilize the market,” Granholm said. Both Granholm and the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, said major consumers could take more barrels from strategic reserves after that group agreed to release 60 million barrels last week. “A reserve release may have to happen again,” Granholm said. Granholm said she expects the clean energy economy will be worth $23-trillion by the end of the decade and that 70% of voting Americans support the transition to renewable energy. “I believe the industry will rise to the occasion and I think the secretary has talked about that,” said Joe Blommaert, president of Exxon’s Low Carbon Solutions. “It requires industry and government collaboration,” he said. The secretary mentioned geothermal lithium brine projects in California as one method that could help the United States produce enough of the white metal for electric vehicle batteries. Like oil and gas companies, though, miners have also complained about permitting delays. Granholm vowed to streamline permitting, eliciting a large applause from the audience. “We need to do a whole of government approach to collapse the bureaucracy associated with getting new kinds of” projects approved, Granholm said. NN: Since the Arab oil embargo of the Seventies we have been talking about energy self sufficiency. The problem is its a house divided against itself….. The grennieewieniees movement with their ecological mandate is responsible for the bloodshed by Middle Eastern and Russian oil states.