The Illusion of Power

Some weeks, the price action is the main story. But in these days of eerily becalmed markets, the numbers don’t capture the full geopolitical drama unfolding across the energy complex.

So instead of producing a Chart Deck, this week I took time to catch up with three major interconnected news stories: the EU’s Russian LNG ban, US and Qatari threats over the EU’s sustainability regulations, and new US sanctions on Russian oil companies.

Reaction so far has been muted: TTF barely nosed above €32/MWh, and Brent edged to a three-week high of $65/barrel. I suspect the market is waiting to see how serious Western powers are about enforcement. The same goes for threats to halt LNG supplies.

These are exactly the issues I discuss in this short (15-min) video podcast. Links to Apple, Spotify, and YouTube are below.

For paying subscribers, there is a Hot Take write-up based on this episode behind the paywall at the end.

I also spent much of the week working behind the scenes to upgrade core elements of the Chart Deck itself, and teeing up some exciting exclusive content that I’ll be sharing next week.

Stay tuned, and thanks for listening.

–Seb