Oil Continues to Fall

Oil prices fell, deepening a multi-week decline. A weakening global economy offset supply woes caused by the closure of a key pipeline supplying the U.S. and Russian production cut threats.

Brent crude futures were trading at $75.69 per barrel, down 41 cents, or 0.5%. West Texas Intermediate crude in the US was trading at $70.68 per barrel, down 34 cents, or 0.5%.

Investors were concerned about how a global recession would affect oil demand, which caused Brent and WTI to drop last week to their lowest levels since December 2021.

Although Beijing’s streets were quiet and many businesses were closed over the weekend, China, the largest importer of crude oil, continued to ease up on its strict zero-Covid policy. According to T.C. Energy of Canada, the cause of the Keystone oil pipeline leak in the US has not yet been identified.

The 622,000-barrel-per-day Keystone pipeline transports heavy Canadian crude to U.S. refineries.

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on Friday that Russia might reduce output and refuse to sell oil to any country that imposes a “stupid” price cap on Russian exports. On Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister also stated that price caps have yet to yield clear results.

E.U. Could Face Gas Shortage Next Year

The International Energy Agency (IEA), which urged governments to take immediate action to save energy and expand renewables, stated that while the European Union has enough gas for the winter, there may be a shortage next year if Russia further reduces supplies. Despite Russia cutting gas deliveries this year, Europe avoided a severe shortage. It began the winter with full gas storage tanks, thanks partly to emergency E.U. storage measures, a lucky spell of mild weather, and high gas prices that dampened demand for the fuel.

However, next year may be a more difficult test than this year’s energy crisis, which has caused fuel bills to skyrocket for European households and forced industries to temporarily close to avoid crippling gas bills.

According to the IEA, if China’s gas demand recovers from its COVID-19 lockdown-induced lows and Russia reduces the small portion of gas it still delivers to Europe, the E.U. could experience a 27 billion cubic meters (bcm) gas shortage in 2023. In 2021, the total E.U. gas consumption was 412 billion cubic meters. Increasing energy-saving subsidies and policies should prevent potential shortages. It includes renovating drafty homes, replacing fossil-fuel-based heating with heat pumps, and pushing forward with the E.U.’s plans to expand renewable energy massively.

The goal of Autofuel Aps, a Danish company, is to make refueling at gas stations as simple as possible by introducing its fully automated robotic refueling system. The business plans to use the currently in-use conventional refueling systems to leverage its technological advantage. Besides refueling, Autofuel provides customized integrations with existing payment and billing systems. The system can be completely automatic and begin operating as soon as it recognizes the vehicle. It can also integrate with a mobile app from which the user can initiate the system.