Europe is a peninsula of Eurasia. Its historical importance has obscured this, but this geographic reality has shaped its natural gas history. Now, from being cut asunder into an energy island, building new continental connections is essential.
The wealth and dense population of Europe, a relative lack of natural resources, and a modern reluctance to fully exploit those it has, mean it has for over half a century been a net importer of crucial energy commodities. The expert on Russian energy, Thane Gustafson, even called one of his books The Bridge, exploring how the Soviet Union, then Russia, built and sustained that bridge over the Iron Curtain to send huge quantities of gas to Europe.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, of course, put an end to such co-operation. The EU’s purchases of gas by pipeline from its eastern neighbour have plummeted and will be phased out entirely by the end of 2027, while liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports will also be banned as of that date.
Natural gas prices have fallen far since 2022’s dizzying heights, but remain above historic levels. As Europe struggles with a lack of competitiveness, and public discontent, Brussels and Berlin, Paris and London, know it is essential to bring down energy bills. The fast-growing share of renewables should eventually deliver that, but gas will remain a crucial part of the energy mix.
Europe can secure its gas needs from all compass points. From the north, it has Norway, a large and reliable supplier, environmentally aware, and well-integrated into the European system. But the Norwegians’ gas exports will not grow much, if at all, over the next few years.
To the west, across the stormy Atlantic, it has the US. The swelling wave of American LNG is certainly vital, and Brussels has committed to buy more of it. But overdependence on Washington looks unwise with today’s turbulent trade. Swapping reliance on one erratic fossil fuel promoter for another risks Europe’s climate and political principles.
So, the east and south become more critical. From the south arrives both pipeline and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from North Africa, and LNG from West Africa and the Middle East. Qatar is the crucial player here. Europe is only a secondary market for Doha, after Asia, and QatarEnergy is unhappy with the EU’s latest directive on sustainability in corporate supply chains. But the Qatar-Europe trade is still very important for diversification on both sides, and for global market balance.
QatarEnergy has a tough call to make, however. Along with the US, the huge expansion of its export capacity currently under way should bring down prices sharply from about 2027 onwards. It has been reluctant to loosen its rigid contract terms, seeking long-term sales deals, ideally linked to oil prices and without giving the buyer the ability to redirect unwanted cargoes. That does not fit well with the European model, although a few 15-year deals have been struck.
This brings us to the east. That does not mean Russia any more, but it does refer to the trade routes that fed European prosperity from the Roman Empire to Venice’s golden age. The transcontinental city of Istanbul, which in a timely fashion hosts the World LNG Summit in December, bridges Europe and Asia, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
Turkey has long sought to be a gas hub, but this has been elusive. It has established itself as a key transit state for gas from Azerbaijan flowing to Greece, Albania and Italy. It has an important balancing role because it still buys large quantities of Russian gas through pipelines under the Black Sea.
Events may now be moving more in its favour. As Abdulvahit Fidan, the chairman of state gas infrastructure company Botaş, commented: “By securing long-term supply agreements and expanding critical infrastructure – including … terminals and interconnectors – [Turkey is] diversifying energy sources and strengthening our position as a key regional gas hub.”
Turkey has for the first time discovered substantial gas reserves in its own territory, which it is developing beneath the deep waters of the central Black Sea. It has greatly expanded its LNG import capacity, giving it more flexibility. Botaş signed nine new LNG import contracts and one preliminary agreement in September.
And long-sought gas from Iraq could be on its way. The federal government and the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region have reached agreement over oil exports, Kurdistan has signed contracts to develop two large gasfields, and Ankara has leverage with Baghdad because of the impending expiry of the treaty governing the vital oil pipeline from Iraq through Turkey to the Mediterranean.
The EU’s four-pronged gas model faces the key challenge of enormous uncertainty. BP’s latest outlook forecasts European gas imports in 2035 as barely different from 2024 on the current trajectory. By 2050, they would be about half that level, but still substantial. However, in a case where global warming is limited to below 2°C, imports would drop 38 per cent by 2035 and 80 per cent by 2050.
The EU does have one key strategic option, as my colleague from the Columbia Centre on Global Energy Policy, Ira Joseph, points out. Russia will presumably not still be stuck on the front-lines in eastern Ukraine in the year 2050. A satisfactory peace, particularly if combined with a change in Moscow’s attitude to its western neighbours, could re-open the valves for Russian gas on a large scale.
Such doubts make it extremely difficult for companies and governments in Europe to commit to long-lived, inflexible pieces of gas infrastructure or contracts. Instead, governments and companies will prefer hubs that can store and redirect gas, LNG that can float to anywhere on the globe. Europe’s new gas geography is neither an appendage of Eurasia, nor an island, but an archipelago anchored more loosely to its neighbourhood.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
The%20specs
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Top tips to avoid cyber fraud
Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:
1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.
2. After installing the latest OS version, keep it patched; this means repairing system vulnerabilities which are discovered after the infrastructure components are released in the market. The vast majority of attacks are based on out of date components – there are missing patches.
3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.
4. Move your personal as well as professional data to the cloud, which has advanced threat detection mechanisms and analytics to spot any attempt. Even if you are hit by some ransomware, the chances of restoring the stolen data are higher because everything is backed up.
5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.
MATCH INFO
Al Jazira 3 (O Abdulrahman 43', Kenno 82', Mabkhout 90 4')
Al Ain 1 (Laba 39')
Red cards: Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain)
The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEric%20Barbier%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYoussef%20Hajdi%2C%20Nadia%20Benzakour%2C%20Yasser%20Drief%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
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All the Money in the World
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Charlie Plummer, Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer
Four stars
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
'Falling%20for%20Christmas'
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Janeen%20Damian%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20Lindsay%20Lohan%2C%20Chord%20Overstreet%2C%20Jack%20Wagner%2C%20Aliana%20Lohan%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%201%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier
ICC Academy, November 22-28
UAE fixtures
Nov 22, v Malaysia
Nov 23, v Hong Kong
Nov 25, v Bhutan
Nov 26, v Kuwait
Nov 28, v Nepal
ICC T20I rankings
14. Nepal
17. UAE
25. Hong Kong
34. Kuwait
35. Malaysia
44. Bhutan
UAE squad
Chaya Mughal (captain), Natasha Cherriath, Samaira Dharnidharka, Kavisha Egodage, Mahika Gaur, Priyanjali Jain, Suraksha Kotte, Vaishnave Mahesh, Judit Peter, Esha Rohit, Theertha Satish, Chamani Seneviratne, Khushi Sharma, Subha Venkataraman
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
One in four Americans don't plan to retire
Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.
Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.
According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.
According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.
For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.
"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."
When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared.
"One of the things about thinking about never retiring is that you didn't save a whole lot of money," says Ronni Bennett, 78, who was pushed out of her job as a New York City-based website editor at 63.
She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.
