Bone-Chilling Winter From Berlin to Davos Causes Energy Scramble
- Coal, gas and power supply running short across Europe
- French gas surging to a record as LNG cargoes urgently sought
Chimneys emit vapor at the Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery plant, operated by Rosneft PJSC, in Novokuibyshevsk, Samara region, Russia, on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016. Oil trimmed a second weekly gain as investors weighed rising U.S. inventories against coming coordinated output cuts by OPEC and other producing nations.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergFrom the rivers criss-crossing eastern Europe to the Mediterranean ports of Greece and France, everyone is hunting for energy supplies.
Blizzards, gale force winds, arctic temperatures and river ice thicker than a house has left the stewards of the European energy business frenzied. Prices of natural gas, primarily a heating fuel, has soared to the highest in more than two years. Blackouts across Eastern Europe caused electricity rates to spike to record levels.