US putting together 'global' strategy to increase gas production if Russia invades Ukraine, official

[blue-wave]

Source: CNN

The Biden administration has been in regular discussions with a number of countries and companies in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Asia about stepping up production of liquified natural gas to Europe in the event that a Russian invasion of Ukraine leads to gas shortages, multiple US officials familiar with the discussions told CNN.

The State Department, led by Senior Adviser for Energy Security Amos Hochstein, has in the last six to eight weeks been putting together a global strategy exploring contingency options to redirect and increase gas supplies from different parts of the world, a senior US official said.

Reuters reported last week that Hochstein had been in talks with energy companies but that increased production was not a request. The senior US official told CNN that increased production has in fact been discussed, but that companies recognize that increasing production could be risky and would take time.

The countries engaging in the talks include Norway and Qatar, the official said, but the US' outreach has been "truly global" as Washington and allies determine what supplies will be needed to get through the winter and spring if there are gas shortages.


Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/23/politics/us-gas-production-strategy-russia-ukraine-invasion/index.html

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All part of the plan to help Europe and isolate Russia if they foolishly invade Ukraine.

[Lovie777]

1. Good move . ...

[SheltieLover]

2. Good!

Disempower the bully!

[yaesu]

3. yes, this is the major leverage putin has over Europe, glad we are proactive on this. nt

[Marthe48]

4. Glad to see economic pressure

Does putin want money? Or does he want war? Because he won't get both. I should say, russia won't get both.

[madville]

5. Germany will be the main player in this

They have increased their dependence on NG the last few years by shutting down 6 of their previous 8 nuke plants, and plan to have the other two offline soon. That’s why the NG pipeline from Russia has been a big priority of theirs lately.

[AllaN01Bear]

6. wish wed get off non renewables?

[paleotn]

7. Hope for the best. Plan for the worst.

[Farmer-Rick]

8. Global strategy to increase gas production????

When we have free energy just spilling out of the sky every day.

Why don't they INSTEAD put together a Global Strategy to collect the energy spilling out all over the place. Then, no country can control it and hold other countries as economic hostages.

This use of nonrenewable energy is such a waste of time and money. We all know gas will go away. Gas is the horse and buggy manufacturers looking at cars and forcing the government to keep buying their horse buggies for the same cost of a car. Gas is obsolete my and will be replaced by green energy. It's going to happen. It is not a matter of if, but when. Might as well do it now and get over the changes.

Instead we keep digging in. Using and planning to use more and more gas, throwing away money that could be used on developing nationwide solar.

Seems we will be stuck with the horse and buggies.

[Gore1FL]

9. Long-term you are 100% correct.

In the short-term, when Russia will most likely act, cranking up our refineries may be the only immediate way to keep Western Europe in motion.

[TomWilm]

10. 👍

[Kaleva]

11. Switching to renewables is incredibly expensive and not a short term answer to gas shortages.

"Germany's enormously expensive Energiewende green energy transformation is sputtering. The numbers tell the story.

Despite spending about €150 billion and years of political effort to scrap nuclear and fossil fuels and switch to renewables like wind and solar, Germany is expected to fall short on pretty much all its national and EU emission reduction and clean energy targets for 2020.

High power prices, continued coal dependency and a “poor CO2 emissions record” mean Germany is falling behind other countries in shifting away from fossil fuels, according to McKinsey’s new global Energy Transition Index. In Europe, 11 countries including Sweden, Austria, Denmark, the U.K. and France do better in cutting coal dependency and greening their energy systems.

Renewable power last year surged to 36 percent of the country's electricity use, according to the Agora Energiewende think tank. But while renewables grew in the power sector, they didn't make major strides in transport or heating, so they account for just over 13 percent of energy use."

https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-climate-change-green-energy-shift-is-more-fizzle-than-sizzle/

[Farmer-Rick]

13. Change costs

No doubt about it, it cost to change something from the obsolete to the current. Especially when you have the gas and oil industry making billions, and using that wealth to manipulate our democracies and economies. So let's not waste more money on securing ways to keep pumping obsolete gas and use it to change.

So Germany is having problems. I suspect every country is having problem converting. Not only do oil and gas corporations interfere in our politics there is the general anxiety about change itself. The US hasn't even taken the baby steps Germany has. It's not that it is unfeasible, it is inevitable.

Newer technology is making it cheaper and easier to apply. Solar has found its way into the hands of everyday people and they are going to realize that energy is free.....and they are going to want some of that free energy. Yeah, we need to focus more on recycling the minerals in the panels and batteries. Americans like to talk about recycling but they don't do much about it.

But compared to the toxic waste products of the oil and gas industry, solar panel waste is a drop in the bucket.

Already there are numerous solar powered units in use in the US. There are solar gates and garage openers, solar exterior lighting, solar powered electrical fences and electric cars.

Energy is free all around us and people want to go dig out coal; drill for gas and oil? Why??? It's spilling out all around us every day for free.

[oldsoftie]

12. The EU countries need to see the folly of shutting down their nuclear plants

They are truly the only real way to get off oil. And to a lesser extent; gas

[Mysterian]

16. Totally correct

Nuclear power is our only hope to save the planet.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

17. That, and a shit ton less human beings, less meat-eating, more local consumption of everything

and maybe the most important ... a shift away from the 'perpetual growth' economic model.

Shutting down nuclear power plants that are functioning, ESPECIALLY under the guise of 'going green' ... was phenomenally stupid of them.

And we're doing the same here in the USA.

Freaking ridiculous.

[sarisataka]

14. The matter is less about production

Than transportation.

Germany alone uses about 8.6 billion cu ft of gas daily and about a third comes from Russia. There are only so many LNG carriers available.

[Slammer]

15. transportation

Yeah, that's exactly my thought. Increasing production for most places is easy since they rarely run close to their maximum production level.

Storing it after it gets out of the ground and transporting it to Germany is the tricky part.

Most ships which can store and transport LNG are under contract to be carrying LNG somewhere. So you'd have to get each of those private countries to break their contract, the ships turn around from wherever they're going and go to Germany instead.

And hope that German ports have the capacity to offload the ships and get the LNG into whatever existing distribution system they have?

[inganmistral]

18. Drill baby drill!

Remember that?

[AZLD4Candidate]

19. Implying what?

Sarah Palin had the right idea?