On April 15, several important developments were reported in global energy markets. One of the most important was the unexpected decline in US oil inventories, while the European Union is preparing for possible energy crisis scenarios. At the same time, Italy received more positive news regarding the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Corriere della Sera writes that Italian energy company Edison is replacing the missing LNG from Qatar with supplies purchased on the short-term market and a cargo is expected on April 16 at the regasification terminal near Rovigo.
From a price perspective, oil did not experience strong movements on April 15, with quotes fluctuating between $90 and $93 per barrel for American WTI and between $94 and $96.8 for London Brent.
More "noise" was made by data from the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) on the unexpected decline in commercial oil inventories, which decreased in the week ended April 10 by about 910 thousand barrels compared to the previous week. Analysts had expected an increase.
In the same week, about 4.1 million barrels were withdrawn from strategic reserves and gasoline reserves fell by 6,328 million barrels.
Following the IMF and World Bank's alarm about the "risk of the greatest energy crisis of modern times," the EU held a closed-door meeting with member country ambassadors on April 15.
The commission said it was assessing two main scenarios. If the ceasefire were to hold and the US blockade of the Strait were lifted, oil and gas flows would return to normal within a few months and prices would fall.
Oil and jet fuel prices would fall by the end of the summer, while the global LNG market would remain tense until 2030, due to damage to Qatar's infrastructure.
If tensions persist, energy markets would face a prolonged supply crisis and extreme price peaks, while Europe could have difficulty filling its gas stocks for the winter.
Brussels is preparing proposals to offset the consequences. The Commission's package against the energy crisis will be discussed by governments at the informal Council on 23-24 April in Cyprus. Among the measures are temporary interventions for the most exposed households and businesses and more flexibility for state aid.
