While the defeat of the latest covid variant seems to be imminent, the oil and gas sector is regaining some confidence and vies for recovery in 2022. However, the sector still has several risks to watch for in the new year.
For many experts, this year's Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 26) in Glasgow has been a failure. The event was highly awaited by observers with high expectations after the environment’s sharp warnings that came in a form of strong floods, forest fires, storm damage and heat waves that hit different parts of the world.
A global energy crisis is looming as European gas prices hit record highs amid tight supply and increasing demand by economies recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the Taliban’s swift takeover of Afghanistan after a chaotic and tragic US withdrawal, images of civilians fighting desperately to board planes leaving the airport raised questions about the future waiting for the Afghan people after the return of the radicals to rule the country.
Anew landmark UN report warned this month that human activity is changing the climate in unprecedented and, in many cases, irreversible ways.
The OPEC this month was on the verge of a new crisis similar to the one that jeopardized oil markets a year ago when a disagreement between Russia and Saudi Arabia over proposed oil-production cuts amid the COVID-19 pandemic led to a war of prices where oil value fell more than 60%.
Throughout human history, energy transitions have always represented turning points that led to deep geopolitical consequences. The shift from wood to coal for example was the locomotive for capitalism and the imperial ambitions of colonial powers in18th century.
The European Union (EU) is poised to unveil a range of new policy measures that are expected to help the bloc reach its ambitious emissions 2030 targets. The new measures will include new targets for renewable energy, changes to tax rules to ensure that electricity does not face higher charges than oil and gas, and a new carbon border adjustment mechanism, or what is known as a new carbon border tax.
The US and China, two of the most economically powerful countries in the world, have been going head to head over the years. Under the Trump administration, the US-China ties have been greatly impaired on many fronts, however, now under the recently-elected US President Joe Biden's administration, both sides came back to the table for discussions on the climate issue, which raises the questions if a joint climate action can bring back the relations to normal or rather deepen the tension and further complicate the climate crisis.
International benchmark Brent crude futures jumped above $70 for the first time in nearly two years after Saudi oil facilities were targeted by missiles and drones on March 8. The attack was one of the recently renewed attacks by Yemen's rebel Houthi movement that used to launch missile attacks on Saudi Arabia infrastructure and territory, including oil tankers and facilities and international airports, in response to Saudi intervention to restore Yemen’s internationally-recognized government.
