• EPRINC and IEEJ CoHost DC Workshop: “Global LNG, Energy Security, and the Transition”

    The Institute of Energy Economics Japan (IEEJ) in Tokyo and the Energy Policy Research Foundation, Inc. (EPRINC) in Washington DC have hosted an in-person workshop on December 15-16, 2022 in Washington, DC. The workshop, Global LNG, Energy Security, and the Transition, brought together a small group of policymakers, practitioners, and experts from the U.S., Asia, and Europe to chart a path forward to address fundamental challenges of meeting rising global requirements for LNG, new threats to energy security, and measures to cost-effectively address the challenges of the energy transition. The workshop supported the six-year joint effort of IEEJ and EPRINC on the role of LNG in sustaining global energy security and worldwide requirements for new energy supplies.

    Background

    Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, world energy markets were experiencing sustained shortages and rising prices from years of underinvestment in oil and natural gas production. Today, pricing pressure on LNG continues to rise well above historic trends from rising demand in Europe as the continent searches for alternative sources to replace lost supplies from Russia. Of special concern in the current market environment for Asia is the severe cost constraints in using LNG. The rapidly rising cost of LNG is especially troublesome for the developing world in Asia as sustained high prices will incentivize continued reliance on coal and petroleum liquids. High prices for LNG will undermine initiatives throughout Asia to pursue Net-Zero aspirations.

    Securing adequate new supplies of LNG for the world market requires overcoming a series of unique financial, policy, and regulatory challenges. LNG projects require large-scale financial commitments binding sellers and buyers for much as 20 years for projects to reach final investment decision. In many cases, aspirational goals seeking to abandon so-called legacy fuels and leap directly to the renewable fuels and low carbon technologies of the future can be counter-productive and undermine long-term progress to Net-Zero outcomes. The energy transition will be both long and difficult. LNG and natural gas offer numerous opportunities for both the developed and developing world to enhance energy security, accelerate the transition away from coal, and make substantial progress in achieving lower carbon emissions. International financial institutions, public financial institutions and private banks will have to work together to ensure that LNG development can proceed with adequate long-term commitments and sufficient investment to bring substantial volumes of new supplies to the market.

    Venue and Discussion Topics

    Our excellent venue, the Cosmos Club, permitted extensive opportunities to discuss the broad challenges of energy supply and geopolitical stress points. We identified five subject areas to focus the panel presentations and discussions. These were:

    1. LNG’s Role in World Energy Supply; Now and in the Future
    2. Addressing Policy Obstacles and ESG Challenges in Bringing New LNG Supplies to Market
    3. The Role of Public and Private Financial Institutions in LNG Production
    4. Asian Energy Security and the Energy Transition – How the Asian Economies Adjust to the New Price Environment and Security Threats
    5. What Advice Should We Give to the G7 for Next Year

    Additionally, EPRINC and the Embassy of Japan in Washington DC cohosted a dinner to facilitate more discussion between participants the evening of December 15.

    The presentations from the workshop can be downloaded from this link, the agenda from the workshop is here, and photos from the two day event are here.

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  • EPRINC Fellow Tristan Abbey Writes Open Letter Recommending a Bipartisan Investigation: “Did Biden Break the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?”

    EPRINC Fellow Tristan Abbey has written this open letter titled “Did Biden Break the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?” The letter was sent on October 27, 2022 to Senators Joe Manchin and John Barrasso, chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

     

    The letter calls for a bipartisan investigation into the operational impacts of the White House’s “historic 180-million-barrel drawdown” focusing on the following quetisons:

    1. Have maintenance requirements — well remediation, cavern closure, pipeline and pump replacements, etc. — increased as a result of the drawdown?
    2. Have any caverns collapsed or been closed temporarily or permanently as a result of the drawdown? Does the administration intend to close down any caverns or sites as a result of the SPR’s depletion? If so, which ones and over what time period?
    3. What is the current status of Life Extension II, the long-awaited $1.4 billion modernization program? Has it fallen further behind schedule?
    4. If the administration does refill the SPR, will the construction of new caverns and other infrastructure be required? Will an equal volume of oil be bought that was sold?
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  • Lucian Pugliaresi and Michelle Michot Foss Pen Article for RealClear Energy: “Bad Energy Policy Ideas Never Die”

    EPRINC President Lucian Pugliaresi has co-authored an article published on October 25, 2022 in RealClear Energy entitled “Bad Energy Policy Ideas Never Die“. In it, they discuss their concerns with recent public policies related to energy that have been proven to be major issues that will be difficult to recover from. A quote from the article with their proposed solution is below:

     

    “To the fearful leaders in our country: step out on your turf and support the domestic oil and gas industries in ways that will build investor confidence and calm markets. There simply is no other way to meet the future without a strong domestic base for energy and materials. Others will take note, including troublemakers we face now and those we’ll face in the future.”

     

    https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2022/10/25/bad_energy_policy_ideas_never_die_860905.html

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  • EPRINC’s President Emeritus and Trustee Larry Goldstein Quoted in October 4th 2022 NY Times
    OPEC is scheduled to meet October 5th 2022 in Vienna Austria to consider strategic guidance to its members and allies on global crude oil production. NY Times journalist Clifford Krauss discusses the issues in play ahead of the meeting, calling on and quoting EPRINC’s Larry Goldstein for insight.
     
    The article, entitled “Saudi Arabia and Russia May Find Their Oil Pricing Power Limited”, can be read here.
     
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  • “Fueling the Dragon: Understanding China’s Natural Gas and LNG Demand” by Battulga Odgerel

    China has emerged as a key player in the global natural gas market in the past decade, surpassing Japan as the top natural gas importer and the largest LNG importer in 2018 and 2021, respectively. China’s role in determining Asian natural gas trends—especially, gas pricing and LNG trade—is increasingly important as the country looks to replace greater volumes of coal with natural gas to implement its programs to reduce local air pollution. As part of EPRINC’s China Series, this publication evaluates market and policy trends in China and projects the country’s natural gas and LNG demand through 2030.

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EPRINC’s President Emeritus and Trustee Larry Goldstein Quoted in October 4th 2022 NY Times
OPEC is scheduled to meet October 5th 2022 in Vienna Austria to consider strategic guidance to its members and allies on global crude oil production. NY Times journalist Clifford Krauss discusses the issues in play ahead of the meeting, calling on and quoting EPRINC’s Larry Goldstein for insight.
 
The article, entitled “Saudi Arabia and Russia May Find Their Oil Pricing Power Limited”, can be read here.
 

Max Pyziur Presents and Moderates at Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) Conference
Established to provide a strong intellectual foundation for Ukraine’s economy, the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) was founded in Kyiv Ukraine in 1996 under the auspices of the Economics Education and Research Consortium and the Eurasia Foundation. Over the years, several hundred students have matriculated and graduated from the school, and it has established a joint degree affiliation with the University of Houston. The school’s current president is Tymofiy Mylovanov, a PhD graduate of the University of Wisconsin, as well as an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Pittsburgh.

On Saturday, September 17, 2022, KSE held its first conference and banquet fundraiser in the United States. The event took place at the Harvard Club in New York City and was attended by 250 people. Professor Mylovanov hosted the banquet’s activities; he alternated between calling on invited speakers for brief remarks, as well as coordinating an auction of donated Ukrainian art and memorabilia. Speakers included Economics Nobel Laureates Paul Krugman and Richard Myerson; Harvard History Professor Serhii Plokhii; NYC Mayor Eric Adams, and attending Ukrainian ministerial and consular representatives.

Preceding the fundraiser there was a conference of two sessions each having three break-out panels. Panel topics were all related to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and included global security, the future of Ukraine’s economy, the energy crisis in Europe, as well as food security and other agricultural issues.

EPRINC’s Max Pyziur presented as well as moderated the energy panel titled “European Energy Crisis or Not.” His presentation focused on Europe’s reliance on Russian natural gas imports, the availability of alternative sources, especially from the U.S., closing with remarks on energy security and its relationship to national and economic security.

The Panel’s speakers and commentators included NaftoGaz COO Mavriky Kalugin, World Bank Director Charles Cormier, Jamestown Fellow Margarita Assenova, and David Martinon, CEO of Expert Petroleum, an E&P company focused on the remediation of depleted oil fields in Western Ukraine.

Details on the full event can be found here.

A copy of Max’s presentation can be found here.

Larry Goldstein and Former Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III Published in Commonwealth Magazine on the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program

A story in today’s Wall Street Journal (September 14, 2022) points out that the while U.S. consumers are getting a reprieve from high gasoline prices, a large jump in electricity and natural-gas costs are increasing their energy bills as winter approaches. The index for electricity in August climbed 15.8% over the same month a year ago, the biggest such 12-month increase since 1981. The story goes on to point out that electricity price increases have been driven by rising prices for natural gas, which powers about 37% of U.S. electricity production and that heating and cooking costs have increased 33% over the last 12 months.

A recent article published in Commonwealth Magazine by EPRINC Trustee Larry Goldstein and former Congressman Joe Kennedy highlight the dire circumstances faced by many low-income Americans as we head into winter. A main source of assistance for low-income families is the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP. The program is now facing a 50 percent funding cut at a time skyrocketing energy cost. Rising energy costs also highlight’s the importance of sustaining adequate production of  legacy fuels until low-cost and  low-carbon alternatives are freely available to consumers.

 

…Lucian Pugliaresi

“Fueling the Dragon: Understanding China’s Natural Gas and LNG Demand” by Battulga Odgerel

China has emerged as a key player in the global natural gas market in the past decade, surpassing Japan as the top natural gas importer and the largest LNG importer in 2018 and 2021, respectively. China’s role in determining Asian natural gas trends—especially, gas pricing and LNG trade—is increasingly important as the country looks to replace greater volumes of coal with natural gas to implement its programs to reduce local air pollution. As part of EPRINC’s China Series, this publication evaluates market and policy trends in China and projects the country’s natural gas and LNG demand through 2030.

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