(TheLibertyRevolution.com)- As long as Russian gas shipments are unpredictable, Europe could have to limit energy this winter, according to Shell’s CEO on Thursday.
Ben van Beurden predicted that prices would keep going up at an energy conference in Oxford because Russian President Vladimir Putin has demonstrated his willingness and ability to “weaponize” the energy supply with a total shutdown, depending on his whim.
According to reports, van Beurden believes Europe will likely have a brutal winter. Perhaps some nations will fare better than others, but he believes that they will all have to deal with dramatically rising prices, which will put a lot of strain on industry and, in turn, put a lot of pressure on the economy. In the worst-case scenario, they may need to ration.
The warning comes after Russia’s major gas pipeline to Germany was shut down last Monday for scheduled maintenance. Germany has criticized Moscow for reducing supplies to Europe and raising gas prices in retaliation for Western sanctions imposed after Russia invaded Ukraine by using technical difficulties as an explanation. Berlin is concerned that after the work is finished, flows won’t resume at all.
Reports show that Putin had reiterated his warnings, declaring on July 8 that more Western sanctions would have “catastrophic implications” for the oil industry. Because Bulgaria and Poland refused to pay in rubles, Russia previously cut them off.
Putin stated that sanctions and limitations on Russia do more significant damage to the nations that apply them. The use of sanctions may have far more severe, perhaps catastrophic, effects on the global energy sector.
Van Beurden is not alone in his pessimistic assessment of the energy supply. Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, said this month that Europe should get ready for a full interruption in Russian gas supply this winter.
Recently, President Joe Biden went to Saudia Arabia with his hat in hand, begging for oil. The Saudis took Biden’s hat and handed him his ass instead.
