Latest news with #EUenergy
Malay Mail
27-06-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
How Czechs quit Russian oil without getting a black eye
NELAHOZEVES, June 28 — Holding a black belt in karate, Jaroslav Pantucek, the man in charge of Czech oil pipelines, is not afraid of tough battles. Like the ones he had to fight to wean the central European country off Russian oil in March, after more than 60 years of reliance and under EU pressure following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. 'I have completed my mission,' Pantucek, the chief executive and board chairman of the state-run Mero firm, told AFP in an interview. Until March, the EU and Nato member of 10.9 million people relied largely on the Druzhba pipeline taking Russian oil to Europe via Ukraine. When the EU moved to end its reliance on Russian fossil fuels after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Druzhba was exempted because the Czechs had few other options — though they had been working on alternatives for decades. Across the EU, Russian oil imports have shrunk from 27 per cent at the beginning of 2022 to three per cent now, European Commission data showed. 'Blackmail potential' Former Czechoslovakia — comprising today's Czech Republic and Slovakia — got connected to Druzhba in the 1960s when it was part of the Soviet bloc. But faltering supplies following the fall of the communist government in 1989 and the split of the country four years later led Prague to rethink the source. 'The first government after the (1989) revolution was already aware of the blackmail potential of Russian oil,' said Pantucek, who is 65. He joined Mero in 1997, a year after the launch of the IKL pipeline, an alternative route bringing in oil via Germany. 'I came to the job interview with a very decent black eye' from karate, chuckled Pantucek. He was already the chief executive when Druzhba suddenly curbed supplies to the Czech Republic in 2008. 'Moscow insists it was a coincidence,' Pantucek said, but he drew a link between the move and US plans to build a radar south of Prague, a thorn in Moscow's side that never materialised. The drop in supplies led Mero to consider joining a consortium running the Transalpine Pipeline (TAL) connecting the Italian port of Trieste with the IKL pipeline. 'We bought a 5-per cent stake after three years of tough talks in December 2012. It was a great success,' said Pantucek. But Prague wanted more and started planning a capacity boost that would make it even less dependent on Druzhba. Pantucek was dismissed from Mero in 2015, but he returned shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, resuming work on the TAL expansion at once. 'I felt there was no time to waste, that the moment when oil stops flowing may be near,' he said. 'Historic moment' The Czechs needed the 60-year-old TAL pipeline to run at maximum capacity for the first time ever to ensure they got the annual eight million tonnes they need. They had to persuade partners in the consortium to change the capacity-sharing rules, unchanged for decades, and adjust the regime for tankers bringing oil to Trieste. 'That was a massive mental clash,' Pantucek said. Mero offered cutting-edge pumps that reduced power consumption and maintenance costs, and got a go-ahead to draft a contract — a process that took seven months as the consortium members kept tweaking it. Czech refineries meanwhile had to adapt to non-Russian oil mixtures with lower sulphur content, currently comprising oil from Azerbaijan, the North Sea, Saudi Arabia or Iraq. The expansion swallowed 42 million euros-worth of Mero's money. 'We were pushing to have everything ready by the end of 2024,' Pantucek added. 'Druzhba never worked 24/7, in fact it was off pretty often. But I had a gut feeling that it may stop completely. And somebody up there helped us I guess.' On March 3 this year, Pantucek had a call from TAL confirming operation readiness after thorough tests. 'On March 4, I came to work and my colleagues told me Druzhba was off. And I said, look, this is a historic moment.' Pantucek is leaving his future at Mero open as he has reached retirement age and the political situation may change after October's general election. 'I can take it easy now,' he said. 'I've done my job.' — AFP
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
EU pushes back proposals to curb reliance on Russian nuclear fuel
By Kate Abnett LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) -The European Commission will not propose measures to limit the EU's reliance on Russian nuclear fuel this week alongside its proposals to ban Russian gas, EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen said on Monday. The Commission is due to propose legal measures this week to end the EU's Russian gas imports by the end of 2027 - an aim the EU executive announced last month. The Commission had said it would also propose, in June, trade measures targeting enriched uranium, to make imports from Russia less attractive and encourage countries to switch to other suppliers. "That will also come, but in the first stage, we'll be focusing on the gas," Jorgensen told reporters on Monday, when asked about the timing of the nuclear proposals. He did not specify a new date for the proposals. "The question about nuclear is, of course, complicated, because we need to be very sure that we are not putting countries in a situation where they do not have the security of supply. So we're working as fast as we can to also make that a part of the proposal," Jorgensen said. Russia supplied 38% of the EU's enriched uranium and 23% of its raw uranium in 2023, according to the think-tank Bruegel. The Commission has said it would also propose restricting new supply contracts for Russian uranium and enriched uranium which are co-signed by the Euratom Supply Agency. While Brussels has fixed an end-2027 deadline by which it aims to quit Russian gas, it has not indicated a date by which the EU should quit Russian nuclear supplies, owing to the complexity of countries' reliance on Russia for fuel, spare parts, or fuel cycle services - and the risk to security of supply if these were suddenly severed. The EU spent 23 billion euros ($26.63 billion) on Russian energy in 2024, of which around 1 billion euros was for nuclear fuel, the Commission has said. Five EU countries - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary and Slovakia - have Russian-designed reactors set up to run on Russian fuel. While all except for Hungary have signed contracts for alternative supplies since 2022, years-long wait times mean they are not able to immediately switch. ($1 = 0.8636 euros) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
16-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
EU pushes back proposals to curb reliance on Russian nuclear fuel
LUXEMBOURG, June 16 (Reuters) - The European Commission will not propose measures to limit the EU's reliance on Russian nuclear fuel this week alongside its proposals to ban Russian gas, EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen said on Monday. The Commission is due to propose legal measures this week to end the EU's Russian gas imports by the end of 2027 - an aim the EU executive announced last month. The Commission had said it would also propose, in June, trade measures targeting enriched uranium, to make imports from Russia less attractive and encourage countries to switch to other suppliers. "That will also come, but in the first stage, we'll be focusing on the gas," Jorgensen told reporters on Monday, when asked about the timing of the nuclear proposals. He did not specify a new date for the proposals. "The question about nuclear is, of course, complicated, because we need to be very sure that we are not putting countries in a situation where they do not have the security of supply. So we're working as fast as we can to also make that a part of the proposal," Jorgensen said. Russia supplied 38% of the EU's enriched uranium and 23% of its raw uranium in 2023, according to the think-tank Bruegel. The Commission has said it would also propose restricting new supply contracts for Russian uranium and enriched uranium which are co-signed by the Euratom Supply Agency. While Brussels has fixed an end-2027 deadline by which it aims to quit Russian gas, it has not indicated a date by which the EU should quit Russian nuclear supplies, owing to the complexity of countries' reliance on Russia for fuel, spare parts, or fuel cycle services - and the risk to security of supply if these were suddenly severed. The EU spent 23 billion euros ($26.63 billion) on Russian energy in 2024, of which around 1 billion euros was for nuclear fuel, the Commission has said. Five EU countries - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary and Slovakia - have Russian-designed reactors set up to run on Russian fuel. While all except for Hungary have signed contracts for alternative supplies since 2022, years-long wait times mean they are not able to immediately switch. ($1 = 0.8636 euros)
E&E News
05-06-2025
- Business
- E&E News
EU's top Russian LNG buyers refuse to back Brussels' gas ban
BRUSSELS — The European Union's two biggest buyers of Russian liquefied natural gas are refusing to endorse Brussels' plan to ban Moscow's gas, arguing they need more reassurances on the economic and legal consequences of the move before making a decision. France, the bloc's top buyer, told POLITICO it prefers a strategy of hunting for alternative supplies. Belgium, in second place, wants a report detailing the economic fallout before making a decision. 'What we're defending is a European strategy of diversification … which is already on the table,' French Energy Minister Marc Ferracci told POLITICO, referencing France's plan to replace Russian supplies with Qatari products. Advertisement The hesitation runs counter to the EU's other major Russian LNG importers: Spain and the Netherlands. Both told POLITICO they are eager to back the upcoming legislation, which would end Russian gas contracts, banning short-term purchases this year and long-term contracts by 2027. In theory, that would help the countries escape contracts which will otherwise will keep them buying Russian LNG for years.
Reuters
21-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Spain, Portugal ask EU to push for power links with France after outage
BRUSSELS, May 21 (Reuters) - Spain and Portugal have asked the European Union to step in to push for more power interconnectors with France, after a massive power outage hit the Iberian Peninsula last month, a letter seen by Reuters showed. Spain and Portugal have limited power linkages to the rest of Europe and have said France has held up new interconnection projects that they say could help prevent disruptions like the unprecedented power outage that hit most of the Iberian Peninsula. Works to strengthen an existing interconnector between France and Spain are expected to wrap up this year, while a new underwater power line spanning the Bay of Biscay is set to be completed by 2028. In the letter to EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen, sent on Wednesday and seen by Reuters, Spain and Portugal's governments urged Brussels to step in to ensure new interconnection projects move ahead. "A firm political and financial commitment is needed, at all levels, in order to ensure the swift and effective integration of the Iberian Peninsula into the EU energy system," said the letter, signed by Spanish energy minister Sara Aagesen and Portuguese energy minister Maria da Graca Carvalho. "Spain and Portugal propose a ministerial meeting during this year in which, together with France and the Commission, we can agree on a roadmap with specific milestones and steps to be taken," the letter said. A European Commission spokesperson confirmed it had received the letter and was in touch with the governments. A spokesperson for France's energy minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter. French grid operator RTE has studied the feasibility of building two additional interconnections with Spain over the Pyrenees in its multi-annual planning document published earlier this year. RTE's planning report said it would expect the EU to contribute financing to any such upgrades, given the goal would be increased interconnection to Spain, "with the beneficiaries being located outside France." France produces most of its power from nuclear plants, while Iberia uses a bigger share of renewable sources, whose fluctuating generation increases the need for flexibility in the power grid. Iberia lags below the EU's target for countries to connect 15% of their electricity capacity to neighbouring countries by 2030 - with Iberia's share stuck at just 3%. Spain and Portugal have argued this is driving up prices, and hampering their power grids' ability to respond to disruptions. Interconnectors can help stabilise energy grids by allowing power to flow between countries to respond quickly to supply and demand fluctuations. "Accelerating the completion of electricity interconnections with the Iberian Peninsula must be placed among the highest priorities," the letter said. Power outages of the magnitude seen in Spain and Portugal last month are rare in Europe. The blackout caused massive disruptions, grounding planes and forcing hospitals to suspend routine operations. The EU is investigating its cause. A spokesperson for Spain's energy ministry and a spokesperson for Portugal's energy ministry each confirmed their ministers signed the letter.
