海角大神

Recharge is a weekly email digest of energy news and analysis聽written by Monitor reporters David J. Unger and Jared Gilmour.

Car race: It appears聽it will be聽Apple vs. Tesla聽vs. GM vs. everyone else in a聽race for electrified transportation domination. This week saw a lot of speculation over what an Apple car might look like, but the real prize for these companies lies under the hood.A better battery for both cars and homes聽is the holy grail that has fostered an聽evolving energy-transportation-technology nexus.

Ukrtransgaz: Fighting continues in Eastern Ukraine despite last week鈥檚 ceasefire, and聽the region鈥檚 gas stability appears to be suffering for it. Moscow accuses Kiev of shutting off flows to rebel-held areas amid frigid weather, while Kiev says the temporary shut-off was the result of heavy fighting. Either way, it鈥檚聽a troubling setback for a country caught between two centers of energy supply and demand.

鈥楢 meaningful global price鈥�:聽BP endorsed a global price on carbon as a fix for rising emissions聽this week. The oil supermajor has made such recommendations before, but its latest Energy Outlook report adds to growing calls聽for a market-based approach to decarbonizing the world's energy supply.聽It may seem like an odd position for a聽fossil-fuel company, but a widely agreed-upon carbon price would at least give聽multinationals some predictability and uniformity as they plan聽future聽global operations.

In the pipeline

• Tuesday, Feb. 24: WASHINGTON 鈥撀燬enate Energy Chair Lisa Murkowski (R) of Alaska holds a hearing on the Department of the Interior鈥檚 budget. Last week, Ms.聽Murkowski threatened to slash Interior鈥檚 budget in response to the department鈥檚 decision to restrict drilling in the聽Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
• Wednesday, Feb. 25: BRUSSELS 鈥撀燭he EU releases its plan for a broad Energy Union聽aimed at boosting the region鈥檚 energy security while tackling its ambitious climate goals.聽Hungary鈥檚 renewed gas deal with Russia聽this week is just the latest obstacle to solidarity on an EU-wide energy policy.

Drill deeper

The Battle for Libya鈥檚 Oil聽[Al Jazeera]
With the largest proven reserves in Africa, Libya鈥檚 volatility disrupts world markets, contributing to oil's recent climb to $62 a barrel. Before the revolution, oil and gas accounted for 96 percent of government revenue, and much of the current strife centers on control of petroleum resources.

Solar Power Comes of Age聽[Foreign Affairs]
After decades of setbacks and rocky economics, solar has finally found sure footing. Years of regulatory support, industrialization, technological innovation, and new financing are to thank for the momentum behind sun-powered electricity, which IEA says could propel solar to generate up to 27 percent of world electricity in 2050.

The Hot New Statistic Oil Traders Are Watching Is 71 Years Old[Bloomberg]
鈥淢aybe a month ago was the first time that I ever saw the price really move after the headlines on the [Baker Hughes] rig counts hit the wire,鈥� Tim Evans, energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective in New York, tells Bloomberg. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got bond traders driving electric vehicles who wouldn鈥檛 recognize an oil well if it were in their backyard, and now even they know Baker Hughes.鈥�

Energy sources

• Wood Mackenzie: "January alone saw a decline in [US land drilling rig]聽count by nearly 200 rigs to 1,616, down from a peak of 1,859 in November 2014. 聽The pace of land rigs being idled continues to accelerate, with the first two weeks in February seeing a further 200 rigs coming off contract."
• Naftogaz: "Ukrtransgas has resolved a natural gas supply stoppage in the area of the anti-terrorist operation through secondary routes. The work was carried out in the most difficult combat conditions at great risk to the lives of company employees."
• Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani via Rudaw: "We are fully committed to the [Baghdad-Erbil oil deal] but the implementation should be from both parties ... If they don鈥檛 send the budget, we won鈥檛 send oil."

Unplug

Data: BP

Recharge is a weekly email digest of energy news and analysis聽written by Monitor reporters David J. Unger and Jared Gilmour.