Fatih Birol News

Weeks of attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi militants on vessels in the Red Sea have disrupted shipping in the Suez Canal, the fastest sea route between Asia and Europe, carrying around 15% of global sea trade.For the European economy, already skirting a mild recession as it tries to shake off high inflation, prolonged trade disruption could derail plans by central banks to start cutting interest rates this year.Here are some factors policymakers are considering as they assess the implications of the disruptions.WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT ON THE EUROPEAN ECONOMY SO FAR?In macroeconomic terms…

In the global quest for achieving net zero emissions and slowing down global warming, carbon capture and storage (CCUS) technology has emerged as an important solution. Among the notable projects being developed in the field is the Northern Lights offshore carbon capture and storage project in Norway, a country with long experience with offshore CO2 storage.The transition to a sustainable energy future requires innovative solutions that go beyond simply halting fossil fuel projects.

Western sanctions on Russia have significantly reduced state oil revenues and diverted tens of billions of dollars towards shipping and refining firms, some with Russian connections.Most of the winners from the sanctions are based in China, India, Greece and the United Arab Emirates, at least 20 trading and banking sources said. A handful are partly owned by Russian companies.None of the firms is breaching sanctions, the sources told Reuters, but they have benefited from measures…

Major leaks that suddenly erupted in the Nord Stream gas pipelines that run from Russia to Europe under the Baltic Sea have generated plenty of theories but few clear answers about who or what caused the damage.Here is what we know and what has been said so far:WHO IS BEING BLAMED?As probes by European authorities continue, the Swedish security police said on Thursday that suspicions of gross sabotage on the pipelines had been strengthened following a crime scene investigation.

OPEC and it allies held talks on Thursday on record oil output curbs of about 15 million barrels per day (bpd) or more, roughly 15% of global supplies, to support prices hammered by the coronavirus crisis, sources involved in the discussions said.They said the plan included cuts of about 5 million bpd from producers outside the group known as OPEC+ and could be made gradually, as the group seeks to overcome resistance from the United States whose involvement they see as vital to a deal.Talks have been complicated by friction between OPEC leader Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC Russia…

Offshore wind could become a cornerstone of the world's power supply as steep cost reductions and improved technology unleash the potential of the green energy source, said the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Friday.Renewables replacing fossil fuel is crucial to meet a globally-agreed goal of limiting temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius this century and the expansion of offshore wind could avoid 5-7 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions from the power sector globally, said the IEA.Power generated from wind turbines at sea only accounts for 0.3% of global electricity generation today…

Global energy investment totalled more than USD 1.8 trillion in 2018, a level similar to 2017, said the International Energy Agency (IEA).The investment stabilised in 2018, ending three consecutive years of decline, as capital spending on oil, gas and coal supply bounced back while investment stalled for energy efficiency and renewables.IEA's latest annual review said that for the third year in a row, the power sector attracted more investment than the oil and gas industry.The biggest jump in overall energy investment was in the United States, where it was boosted by higher spending in upstream supply, particularly shale, but also electricity networks.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) held a high-level workshop on the outlook for offshore wind energy yesterday (May 13), bringing together 80 senior representatives from government, the private sector, research groups, academia and international organisations.Participants joined from countries around the world, including many from Europe, the United States, Japan and China, said a press release from the Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization which works to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy.Altogether, the countries represented at the workshop account for 97% of current and planned offshore wind development.Technological improvements for offshore wind are improving performance and lowering the costs of the electricity it produces…

The United States is set to drive the global oil supply growth over the next 5 years, thanks to the strength of its shale industry, triggering a rapid transformation of world oil markets, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).IEA said that oil exports from the United States will overtake Russia and close in on Saudi Arabia, bringing greater diversity of supply, by the end of the forecast.While global oil demand growth is set to ease, in particular as China slows down, it still increases an annual average of 1.2 mb/d to 2024, according to the report, Oil 2019. Still, the IEA continues to see no peak in oil demand, as petrochemicals and jet fuel remain the key drivers of growth…

The evolution of the global natural gas market, which has been driven by the growth in liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand, continues to change the relationship between buyers and sellers, and raises new challenges for the global security of energy supplies.Global natural gas markets are being reshaped by the development of major emerging LNG buyers led by China, and the rising production and exports from the United States. The third annual edition of the International Energy Agency’s Global Gas Security Review provides an in-depth analysis of recent security-related issues and lessons learned.China’s supply shortfall over the last winter, which triggered ripple effects around the world, highlighted the pivotal role of LNG in enhancing global gas security and flexibility of supply.

U.S. energy companies kept the oil rig count unchanged this week, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said on Friday, as some analysts expect a gradual decline in overall rigs in the fourth quarter and in 2018. The rig count, an early indicator of future output, held at 738 in the week to Nov. 17, still much higher than 471 rigs a year ago as energy companies boosted spending plans for 2017 as crude started recovering from a two-year price crash. The increase in drilling lasted 14 months before stalling in August…

The head of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol said on Thursday the United States would - in the long term - become the "undisputed leader of oil and gas production worldwide".   Speaking at the U.N. climate conference in Bonn, Germany, he said the agency expected oil markets to rebalance next year if oil demand remained "more or less" as robust as it is today and if OPEC and non-OPEC continued with their oil production cuts.     (Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar; Editing by Mark Potter)

While the plummet in energy spending should come as little surprise to anyone knowing anything about global maritime and energy markets, the International Energy Agency helped to put the precipitous drop in perspective, reporting that the global energy spend was down 8% in 2015. In a first-ever detailed analysis of investment across the global energy system, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday that global energy investment fell by 8% in 2015, with a drop in oil and gas upstream spending outweighing continued robust investment in renewables, electricity networks and energy efficiency. Total investment in the energy sector reached $1.8 trillion in 2015, down from $2 trillion in 2014, according to World Energy Investment 2016 (WEI 2016).

Growth in natural gas demand will slow to an average 1.5 percent a year globally through 2021, as stagnation in Europe and uncertainty about Chinese consumption offsets robust growth in India, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday. After growth of 2.5 percent over the last six years, gas is facing competition from renewable energy and cheap coal, meaning the global gas market will remain over supplied. In Europe, Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom will be challenged by the prospect of a glut of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as export capacity rises 45 percent by 2021, even as demand drops in key markets in Japan and Korea. "Developments are pointing to a period of oversupply," IEA head Fatih Birol said in the agency's annual medium term gas outlook.

International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol said on Sunday that oil prices may have bottomed but that would depend on global economic growth. Asked if oil prices had reached a bottom, Birol told Reuters: "It may well be the case, but it depends on economic growth." He expected global oil demand to grow by 1.2 million barrels per day this year while non-OPEC oil production would fall by more than 700,000 bpd. (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

Oil is unlikely to return to $80 a barrel before the end of the decade, despite unprecedented declines in investment, as yearly demand growth struggles to top 1 million barrels per day, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday. In its World Energy Outlook, the IEA said it anticipates demand growth under its central scenario will rise annually by some 900,000 barrels per day to 2020, gradually reaching demand of 103.5 million bpd by 2040. The drop in oil to around $50 a barrel this year has triggered steep cutbacks in production of U.S. shale oil, one of the major contributors to the oversupply that has stripped 50 percent off the price in the last 12 months.

Warning that the world is not on track to limit the global temperature increase to 2°C, the International Energy Agency (IEA) urged governments to swiftly enact four energy policies that would keep climate goals alive without harming economic growth. “Climate change has quite frankly slipped to the back burner of policy priorities. But the problem is not going away – quite the opposite,” IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said in London at the launch of a World Energy Outlook Special Report, Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map, which highlights the need for intensive action before 2020. New estimates for global energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2012 reveal a 1.4% increase, reaching a record high of 31.6 gigatonnes (Gt), but also mask significant regional differences.

The International Energy Agency<http://www.iea.org/> (IEA) will undertake a comprehensive analytical study of Iraq as part of the 2012 edition of its flagship publication, the World Energy Outlook (WEO). "Iraq's energy sector is both central to the reconstruction and development of the Iraqi economy and of huge importance to the global outlook," said IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven. "The focus on Iraq in this year's World Energy Outlook will illuminate a central issue for the future of global energy, and we are very pleased to be working with the strong support of the Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, Dr. Speaking to the IEA Governing Board on 15 February, the Ambassador of Iraq to France, H.E. Dr. Fareed Yasseen, outlined Iraq's expectations for the IEA work.

Climate, energy and demographics are to be discussed by industry leaders in Vancouver BC, when BIMCO, the world’s largest representative shipping organisation holds its General Meeting in the Canadian city in June this year. Issues of sustainability are never far from the thoughts of ship operators these days, especially when contemplating the purchase of new ships, which may well have a 25 year lifespan. Shipping people have to look further ahead than most, as they contemplate the future demand for their ships…