Israel strikes port, energy targets in Yemen
Israel launched strikes against ports and energy infrastructure in Houthi-held parts of Yemen on Thursday and threatened more attacks against the Iran-aligned militant group, which has launched hundreds of missiles at Israel over the past year.As Israeli jets were in the air, the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile headed towards central Israel which destroyed a school building in Ramat Efal in the western part of Tel Aviv with what a military spokesperson described as falling shrapnel.The Houthis - who have launched attacks on international shipping near Yemen since November 2023…
Prices of gas in Europe are falling due to a weaker demand and stronger forecast winds
Dutch and British wholesale price fell slightly on Friday morning due to continued high temperatures, lower demand and the expectation of higher wind output. LSEG data shows that the benchmark front-month contract for the Dutch TTF hub dropped by 0.20 euros to 39.40 Euro per megawatt hour at 0854 GMT. The contract for December was lower by 0.37 euros at 39.78 Euro/MWh. The weekend contract on the British market was down 0.60 pence to 94.90 per therm. The wind power generation in North-West Europe is low, but it is expected to increase over the weekend.
Prices of gas in Europe are lower due to profit-taking and lower demand
The Dutch and British wholesale prices of gas were lower on Tuesday morning due to profit-taking and after media reports that Israel was willing not strike Iranian oil targets. This eased concerns about a disruption in supply. LSEG data shows that the benchmark front-month contract for the Dutch TTF hub dropped by 1.00 euros to 39.40 Euro per megawatt hour, or $12.91/mmbtu by 0849 GMT. The front-month contract on the British market was reduced by 3.00 pence, to 98.00 per therm. The British day-ahead contracts was 2.6 cents lower at 95.00 pence per therm.
Prices for EUROPE GAS remain stable despite cooler temperatures and Middle East anxieties
The Dutch and British wholesale prices of gas rose slightly on Thursday morning, as demand increased due to the colder weather and reduced wind. However, the range remained tight as the market continued to monitor the developments in the Middle East. LSEG data show that the benchmark front-month contract for the Dutch TTF Hub was up 0.21 euro at 38.76 Euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh), which is $12.42 per mmBtu at 0839 GMT. The contract for the day-ahead was up by 0.82 euros at 38.72 euro/MWh. The British day-ahead rate was 95.50 pence pence per therm, 1.50 pence more expensive.
EUROPE GAS - Prices range amid geopolitical risks and strong inventories
The Dutch and British wholesale prices of gas were not much changed on Wednesday. They traded in a narrow range amid high storage inventories, mild weather and geopolitical tensions. LSEG data revealed that the benchmark front-month contract for the Dutch TTF hub remained flat at 38.60 Euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh), which is $12.60 per mmBtu at 09:00 GMT. The contract for December increased by 0.15 euro to 39.40 Euro/MWh. The British front-month contract fell 0.83 pence to 96.35 pence per therm. LSEG…
Oil Stumbles, but Iran Uncertainties Support
Israel presses U.S. to scrap nuclear deal with Iran. Oil prices slid on Tuesday as the dollar remained near a four-month high, but worries that U.S. President Donald Trump will pull out of the Iran nuclear deal underpinned the market. Brent crude for July delivery was trading 58 cents lower at $74.11 by 1157 GMT. The June contract expired on Monday, settling up 53 cents at $75.17. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was 70 cents down at $67.87 a barrel, after settling 47 cents higher on Monday.
Greece, Israel, Cyprus to Speed up Mediterranean Pipeline Efforts
Greece, Israel and Cyprus said on Thursday they would speed up plans for the development of a pipeline channelling gas to Europe from newly discovered east Mediterranean reserves. European governments and Israel agreed in April to move forward with a Mediterranean pipeline project to carry natural gas from Israel to Europe, setting a target date of 2025 for completion. Europe is keen to diversify its energy supplies, and Greece wants to promote itself as a hub for the transit of gas from the eastern Mediterranean to the continent.
China, Saudi Arabia Mull Billions in Energy Deals
King seeking investments after launching reforms; Saudi Arabia, China looking at refinery, petrochemical projects. Saudi Arabia's King Salman oversaw the signing of deals worth potentially $65 billion on the first day of a visit to Beijing on Thursday, as the world's largest oil exporter looks to cement ties with the world's second-largest economy. The octogenarian monarch, who has overseen the launch of an ambitious economic reform plan since his accession two years ago, is on a month-long Asian tour.
Leviathan Natgas Development at Risk for Delay
Noble Energy warned of the risk of a delay to the development of the Leviathan natural gas field off Israel's coast after Israel's Supreme Court blocked a crucial provision of a plan to develop the site. The court late on Sunday approved most of the plan except for a stability clause vital to Texas-based Noble and Delek Group, its Israeli partner, that binds the government to the deal for 10 years. The court gave the two sides up to one year to come up with an alternative legal mechanism for the government providing stability assurances.
Israel, Greece and Cyprus Mull Gasline to Europe
Greece, Israel and Cyprus will explore the possibility of building a natural gas pipeline to Europe, tapping huge gas reserves discovered in the eastern Mediterranean in recent years, leaders of the three countries said on Thursday. Israel has reported some of the largest gas finds in the past decade and EU member Cyprus confirmed a discovery in 2011, making both potential exporters. Groups of specialists will be appointed to assess the pipeline idea, and plans are proceeding to create a subsea electricity cable to Europe, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters in Nicosia.
Nuclear Sanctions on Iran lifted
Iran emerged from years of economic isolation on Saturday when world powers lifted crippling sanctions against the Islamic Republic in return for Tehran complying with a deal to curb its nuclear ambitions. In a dramatic move scheduled to coincide with the scrapping of the sanctions, Tehran also announced the release of five Americans including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian as part of a prisoner swap with the United States. Together, the lifting of sanctions and the prisoner deal considerably reduce the hostility between Tehran and Washington that has shaped the Middle East since Iran's Islamic Revolution of 1979.
Israeli Firms, Leviathan in Natural Gas Talks
The partners in Israel's offshore Leviathan natural gas site said on Thursday they were in talks to supply gas to a number of Israeli companies. In a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, units of Delek Group said the firms were private electricity producers and industrial companies but did not offer further details. Last month, after years of political infighting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed a deal giving long-awaited approval for the development of Leviathan off Israel's Mediterranean coast. Leviathan, with estimated reserves of 622 billion cubic meters, will cost at least $6 billion to develop.
Israel Eyes More Offshore Gas Exploration
Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said he expects offshore natural gas exploration to accelerate in the next few months, with investment from some of the world's largest oil and gas companies. Steinitz said he recently met officials from ENI and 20-30 other energy firms, such as Shell, Hess , Exxon Mobile and EOG, in a bid to entice them to invest in Israeli fields off its Mediterranean coast. Under a framework agreement approved in August by lawmakers, a group led by Houston-based Noble Energy and Israeli conglomerate Delek Group will be allowed to keep control of the yet to be developed Leviathan field.
Russia Reassures Israel Over Iran Nuclear Deal
Russian President Vladimir Putin told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that the deal on Iran's nuclear programme would improve security in the Middle East and guaranteed that Tehran would not acquire nuclear arms. Israel plans to lobby the U.S. Congress not to approve the agreement clinched between Iran and world powers in Vienna earlier this month after more than a decade of negotiations. Under the deal, the United States, European Union and United Nations will lift sanctions against…
Netanyahu: Nothing Will Stop Israel's Natural Gas Development
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to further develop offshore natural gas fields after the country's anti-trust regulator said he would step down to protest against the lack of competition in the gas sector. Netanyahu is under pressure to strike a balance between moving ahead with plans to develop the large Leviathan gas field while creating competition, since Leviathan is owned by the same firms as the nearby Tamar site that started production in 2013. The fields are off Israel's Mediterranean coast.
White House: Obama Looks Forward to Working with Israel's Netanyahu
The White House said on Thursday that President Barack Obama looks forward to working with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his new governing coalition. "As President Obama has emphasized, the U.S. places great importance on our close military, intelligence and security cooperation with Israel," the White House National Security Council said on Twitter. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton)
GOP Warns Iran on Nuclear Deal with Obama
Republican senators warned Iran on Monday that any nuclear deal made with U.S. President Barack Obama could last only as long as he remains in office, in an unusual intervention into U.S. foreign policy-making. The letter, signed by 46 U.S. senators, says Congress plays a role in ratifying international agreements and points out that Obama will leave office in January 2017, while many in Congress will remain in Washington long after that. "We will consider any agreement regarding your nuclear-weapons…
Amid Nuclear Dispute, Israel and Iran Face Off Over Past Oil Ties
As Israel loudly and publicly denounces Iran and its nuclear programme this week, the two countries are quietly tussling in a decades-old dispute over a secretive oil pipeline company that could be worth billions of dollars to Tehran. In a Swiss court, lawyers for each side are locked in arbitration over the Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Co. (EAPC), a joint venture set up in 1968, when the two nations were friendly, to transport Iranian oil to the Mediterranean. For a decade, the pipeline successfully carried oil from the Red Sea for export to Europe.
Iran Nuclear Talks Advancing, But No Deal Likely
Talks on curbing Iran's nuclear program have made substantial progress, a senior U.S. official said on Friday as the White House braced for an onslaught of criticism next week from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The official told reporters many hurdles remained to reaching an agreement to restrain the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for easing economic sanctions and said he did not expect one to be reached next week. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif are to meet in Switzerland early next week just as Netanyahu comes to Washington.
US: Noble Energy Deal Should Move Forward, Boosts Energy Security
The United States supports moving forward with offshore natural gas deals in the Mediterranean involving the U.S. company Noble Energy, a State Department spokesman said on Tuesday. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has also discussed the issue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said. "We continue to engage and we support all parties to move forward with the natural gas deal signed between Noble Energy and entities in Jordan and Egypt," Rathke told reporters.
