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Hello Power Up readers! We shall have to see if markets can relax a bit after a big bank bailout in Switzerland over the weekend, as oil futures have been caught up with the turmoil going on in other sectors. If that does happen, oil might rebound, but it’s not clear that’s in the cards now, as futures hit their lowest since 2021 on Monday. Here’s where we are…  

Why are these people smiling as they’re going to visit a big offshore gas platform? (That’s NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.) NTB/Ole Berg-Rusten 

The heads of NATO and the European Commission flew to a North Sea platform on Friday, as Nora Buli reports here, as a way of shoring just how important Norway is in terms of gas shipments to the European continent after Moscow cut off gas supplies to Europe last year. 

The platform, called Troll A, extracts gas from Norway’s biggest gas field. Norway is now the biggest supplier to the EU, which should continue since Russia is barely supplying Europe. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters that NATO has stepped up in “exchanging intelligence information (and we have) closer monitoring of the infrastructure. We have increased our presence with more military capabilities.”  

Security at Norwegian petroleum facilities has kicked up after the explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines on Sept. 26 in the Baltic Sea. Norway sent record volumes of gas to Germany in 2022 and last year also opened a new pipeline to Poland via Denmark.  

That’s a big sign at the entrance to Shell’s LNG Canada project site in Kitimat in northwestern British Columbia. REUTERS/Julie Gordon

British Columbia enhanced its standards for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, as Nia Williams reports here, part of a new energy framework that requires operators in the province to be emissions-free by 2030.  

That plan counts as fairly robust in terms of climate standards, which energy representatives are reviewing. Tristan Goodman, CEO of the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, said the framework is generally “constructive and positive,” but the industry has some concerns about the emissions cap. Canada’s government is weighing both the tougher environmental standards in a country that is also a major producer of fossil fuels, particularly in B.C.’s neighboring province of Alberta, the sixth largest producer of natural gas.  

“The B.C. roadmap to 2030 is probably North America’s strongest climate plan but what was missing until now was answers on dealing with oil and gas. This fills in the missing gaps,” said Mark Zacharias, executive director of think-tank Clean Energy Canada, adding that the new framework rounds out B.C.’s plan to cut emissions 40% below 2005 levels by 2030. The new rules will not affect the Shell LNG project already under construction, but a pair of other smaller projects will fall under the new rule. 

China! LNG! 

Chinese liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyers are purchasing spot cargos again, as prices have come off and demand is kicking up, as Emily Chow, Chen Aizhu and Andrew Hayley report here. Since the pandemic started China has relied more on its ample coal generation for power usage, but has been pushing for more LNG shipments.  

Analysts believe the country, the world’s largest energy importer, could use between 385 billion and 400 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas this year, which is about 6% more than in 2022, as new terminals come online. If China is back in the market in a big way, that could boost prices again thanks to competition with Europe. China is still relying heavily on coal for about 56% of its energy mix so additional demand could help increase overall natural gas prices worldwide. 

French energy workers on strike in front of oil giant TotalEnergies refinery in Donges. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

French fuel supplies have been at risk in a tumultuous time for the nation, as unions have been striking after the government there moved to boost the state pension age by two years. following union calls to extend 10 days of strike action at refineries in protest against the government’s move to hike the state pension age by two years to 64. 

The protests have been going on for nearly three weeks now – and that has caused ships carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to divert to nearby European nations and may soon complicate France’s ability to export gas to some other countries as well. Workers at utility EDF have also been striking while maintenance has been blocked at French nuclear reactors as well, while the disruptions at Engie subsidiary Elengy’s three LNG terminals are now expected to go through March 27.  

As of Sunday, France’s TotalEnergies, one of the world’s largest oil companies, said more than one-third of its operational staff was on strike, and other refinery fuel supplies have been halted elsewhere.  

“Our industry hasn’t been invested in for more than a decade, all the recent investment has been very short-cycle. There’s still definitely a preference for shareholder returns. But that’s not how you build long-term sustainable businesses.”  

Mike Nicholson, CEO of International Petroleum Corp, the first foreign oil company to sanction a Canadian oil sands project in more than a decade 

Texas two years ago. Was pretty cold. Bronte Wittpenn/Austin American-Statesman/USA Today Network via REUTERS//File Photo

The Texas agency that regulates the state’s power utilities kept power prices too high following a 2021 deep freeze that led to millions of people living without power for days and more than 200 deaths, as Laila Kearney reports here. 

A Texas appeals court on Friday said the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) exceeded “limits on its power” by keeping prices at a cap of $9,000 per megawatt hour during the storm – part of why prices surged dramatically during Storm Uri, which hit in February 2021 and caught state officials and its grid operator flat-footed. Gas prices surged around the country, but Texas, as it is not connected to other grids, suffered more than any other state.  

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