Skyrocketing natural gas prices in Europe forced chemical giant Ineos to idle three major UK plants, while an armed blockade shut down Libya’s primary Sharara oilfield. Meanwhile, Gazprom shares rallied above 100 rubles on the Moscow Exchange, and Russia’s Kaluga region reinstated petrol rationing.
Global market
British chemical giant Ineos is idling three chemical plants in Hull due to uncompetitive European natural gas prices, eliminating Europe’s last remaining world-scale acetyls production capacity. In North Africa, an armed military group closed Valve No. 7 on Libya’s main export pipeline, triggering a sharp production slump at the Sharara oilfield. Meanwhile, International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol warned that Europe faces a severe winter due to halted gas deliveries from the UAE and Qatar. At the UN General Assembly, UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that five major Western oil companies made nearly $0.5 trillion in profit during the Ukraine conflict.
Russia & CIS
Gazprom shares surged 3.17% to 100.27 rubles, climbing above 100 rubles for the first time since July as the MOEX Index crossed 2,300 points. On retail fuel markets, Kaluga Oblast Governor Vladislav Shapsha announced an even-odd rationing system for petrol sales at filling stations starting September 23 due to delivery disruptions. In nuclear energy, Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev reported that the number of Russian specialists at Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant reached 63 people after 18 engineers arrived overnight. Meanwhile, Russia’s seaborne crude exports dropped to 3.53 million barrels per day under US sanctions.
Armenia
Chemical plant shutdowns in Britain and Russian seaborne crude export declines received close coverage across Armenian media, news.am reported. Fuel supply disruptions and petrol station sales restrictions in neighboring regions create additional risks for South Caucasus energy importers. Nevertheless, retail prices for petrol, diesel, and compressed natural gas in Armenia remain stable. Natural gas supplies and operations at the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant continue without disruption under long-term trade agreements within the EAEU, which protect domestic consumers from global price volatility recorded by international market price assessments.