OilPrice: Russia Seeks To Benefit From Global Energy Crisis

The winter will be very cold, and China, Europe and India will face a huge crisis in the coming months.

Russia is looking to capitalize on the global energy crisis, OilPrice.com believes. Winter will be very cold, and China, Europe and India will face a huge energy crisis in the coming months.

Global energy consumption is returning to pre-pandemic levels, but supply chains simply cannot keep up with demand. Now, just as Scotland is undergoing COP26 to set a course for global decarbonization, China is switching to coal, India – already dependent on the dirtiest fossil fuels for 70% of its energy balance – is in dire straits.

One country, however, is poised to benefit greatly from the current supply cuts. While Europe, China and India are becoming desperate, Russia appears to be deliberately sitting on natural gas supplies for its own geopolitical gain. Russia is believed to be using natural gas supplies “as a weapon” to force Europe to comply with the Kremlin’s wishes. Most likely, the main motivator is the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The $ 11 billion pipeline connecting Russia and Germany across the Baltic Sea has already been completed but has not yet been launched due to concerns that the move would give Russia too much leverage over the European Union.

“I have no doubts, and the International Energy Agency itself has confirmed that the only supplier that can really make a big difference to European energy security at the moment this winter is Russia,” said Joe Biden’s adviser Amos Hochstein.

This winter, Moscow is poised to reap enormous benefits, both strategically and financially, in Asia and Europe. China and India are counting on imports from Russia in order not to die. Both countries have already experienced power outages due to power shortages this year. According to reports from Al Jazeera, Beijing is expected to buy 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russian Gazprom this year along the eastern China-Russia route. This is twice as much as last year. India also recently signed an agreement with Russia to sell 40 million tons of coking coal annually.