One morning in early June, a fire broke out at an obscure facility in Texas that takes natural gas from US shale basins, chills it into a liquid and ships it overseas. It was extinguished in 40 minutes or so. No one was injured.
It sounds like a story for the local press, at most except that more than three weeks later, financial and political shockwaves are still reverberating across Europe, Asia and beyond.
That's because natural gas is the hottest commodity in the world right now. It's a key driver of global inflation, posting price jumps that are extreme even by the standards of today's turbulent markets - some 700 per cent in Europe since the start of last year, pushing the continent to the brink of recession. It's at the heart of a dawning era of confrontation between the great powers, one so intense that in capitals across the West, plans to fight climate change are getting relegated to the back-burner.
In short, natural gas now rivals oil as the fuel that shapes geopolitics. And there isn't enough of it to go around.
It's the war in Ukraine that catalysed the gas crisis to a new level, by taking out a crucial chunk of supply. Russia is cutting back on pipeline deliveries to Europe - which says it wants to stop buying from Moscow anyway, if not quite yet. The scramble to fill that gap is turning into a worldwide stampede, as countries race to secure scarce cargoes of liquefied natural gas ahead of the northern-hemisphere winter.
The new oil?
Esta historia es de la edición July 06, 2022 de Business Standard.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición July 06, 2022 de Business Standard.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Adani, Tata Eye Bigger Pie In Mumbai Power Distribution
Battle for high-value customers heats up amid increased EV penetration
Al Inside: Tech Eases Work For IT Firms
It simplifies and automates routine tasks and helps employees to focus on the big picture
Fertility Rates Linked To Education, Wealth
Income levels and the number of years a person spends in school are inversely related to the size of families they decide to raise.
Musk In Beijing In A Bid To Push Tesla Autopilot Tech
Tesla chief executive officer (CEO) Elon Musk arrived in Beijing on Sunday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of Full Self Driving software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Shipping To Shopping, AI Is Making Food Safe
Concerns about food safety rise periodically as more information about the impact of chemicals is revealed.
'Taiwan keen to help India become leader in chip space'
Taiwan is keen to collaborate with India and help it become a leader in the semiconductor space, Jason Ho, chairman of the Taiwan Chamber of Commerce in India, said, asserting that the Taiwanese companies have the supply chain for things that the Indian market needs.
No cancer-causing agents in our products: MDH on quality claims
MDH Spices has denied allegations that its products have traces of cancer-causing agent ethylene oxide (ETO), calling them \"untrue\" and \"lacking any substantiating evidence.
RIGHT TO A FUTURE
The apex court has made an 'observation' on the right to be free from the adverse effects of climate change. Can this pave the way to a cleaner future?
How to make insolvency law solvent
The IBC has served the purpose by creating the fear of god among rogue promoters. It's time to plug the loopholes in the law and make the defaulters understand that the IBC isn't just all bark and no bite
To fund AI boom, tech plans plumbing upgrade
Microsoft, Meta and Google's parent Alphabet are going to spend billions on infrastructure