The International Energy Agency (IAE) said the world could lessen an oil shortage caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by restricting how people use their vehicles and accelerating the transformation of cities toward alternative means of transportation.
“We are experiencing a major crisis,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol told a news conference on Friday. “Oil markets are in an emergency situation. And not only that — it may even get worse than today in the next few months.”
The IAE said advanced economies could reduce their daily oil demand by 2.7 million barrels within four months by following a 10-step plan that would significantly ease looming supply strains by almost offsetting the loss of 3 million barrels per day from Russian production that the agency anticipates for April.
Photo: Reuters
“These efforts would reduce the price pain being felt by consumers around the world, lessen the economic damage, shrink Russia’s hydrocarbon revenues and help move oil demand to a more sustainable pathway,” the Paris-based agency said in a report.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has upended global commodity markets, sending prices soaring and prompting an urgent search for alternative sources of energy.
While most states — excluding the US and UK — have not banned Russian oil imports, and none of its major customers are sanctioning natural gas supplies, there could still be disruptions as buyers voluntarily shun trade with Moscow.
The IEA’s plan to curtail oil demand includes lower speed limits for vehicles, urging people to work from home, placing occasional limits on vehicle access to city centers, making public transportation cheaper, encouraging carpooling, and greater use of high-speed rail and virtual meetings instead of air travel.
Earlier this month, the agency said the EU could slash imports of Russian gas by one-third within a year by increasing purchases from elsewhere, ramping up renewables and boosting energy efficiency.
In related news, the world’s three biggest oil field service providers are halting new projects in Russia in response to Moscow’s invasion, announcing their decisions separately within 24 hours of each other.
Baker Hughes Co on Saturday became the latest, saying in a statement that it is suspending new investment in Russia, but continuing with existing work there.
That followed a similar statement by Schlumberger NV late on Friday, when the world’s biggest oil field contractor immediately cut any new investment in one of the biggest oil-producing nations while leaving existing work there intact.
“The crisis in Ukraine is of grave concern, and we strongly support a diplomatic solution. We condemn violence and our hearts go out to the people and families of those impacted,” Baker Hughes chief executive officer Lorenzo Simonelli said in the statement.
Halliburton Co, the world’s top provider of fracking services, is the only oil field contractor to halt current and future work in Russia.
The company followed some of the largest oil explorers, including BP PLC and Shell PLC, in announcing plans to abandon Russia.
CONSIDERATIONS: The NSTC instructed the park to assist laid-off workers and urge companies to use furlough programs to ease the effects of falling demand Firms in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), which houses major tech companies, reported laying off 496 employees last month amid weakened global demand, Hsinchu Science Park Bureau director-general Wayne Wang (王永壯) said yesterday. Wang told a news conference that 48 companies in the science park laid off employees last month, including one hard disk supplier which let go 241 employees as part of a plant closure due to falling demand. Other companies reported sporadic layoffs as they adjusted to weakening demand, he said. Wang made the remarks after local media reported the layoffs over the weekend. Although the global economy is struggling with high
DEJA VU: Echoing the probe into real-estate giant Evergrande Group, the bank is under Beijing police scrutiny after last week, telling investors it is ‘severely insolvent’ Chinese authorities said they recently opened criminal investigations into Zhongzhi Enterprise Group Co’s (中植企業) money management business, days after the embattled shadow banking giant revealed a shortfall of US$36.4 billion in its balance sheet. Police in Beijing said in a statement on WeChat that they took “criminal mandatory measures” against multiple suspects, identifying one by their last name, Xie (解). They urged investors to report cases or provide leads to the authorities, including filing complaints online. Xie Zhikun (解直錕), the group’s founder, died in 2021, but several of his relatives are executives at the company. The statement did not elaborate on what
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and German Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck have promised to solve investment subsidy issues for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Intel Corp, despite the country’s budget woes. Uncertainty over the funding to TSMC and Intel has arisen after a ruling by the German Federal Constitutional Court, which cast doubt over subsidies for construction of local semiconductor chip plants. On Nov. 15, the court ruled that the German government’s decision last year to reallocate 60 billion euros (US$65.74 billion) of unused funding from COVID-19 pandemic support measures to its Climate and Transformation Fund
NEW TREAD: The Taiwanese shoe brand paired with TSMC to turn silicon waste into a circular economy good, following its success making shoes from coffee grounds Ccilu International Inc (馳綠國際), a Taiwan-based footwear brand, has become the first company in the world to turn silicon waste from contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) into eco-friendly shoes. Last year, the global footwear industry saw the first pair of pressure-relief slippers made from recycled silicon waste by Ccilu. The brand continued to unveil follow-up collections, including sports shoes and massage slippers made from the same materials. In an interview with CNA, Ccilu CEO Wilson Hsu (許佳鳴) recalled the company’s innovation of the first pair of slippers made from silicon waste after its silicon waste treatment partner, Semisils Applied Materials
RSS