Russian gas continues to flow to the European Union through Ukraine under the current deal. Some nations still rely on this fuel, while most of northwest Europe has replaced flows from Moscow with cargoes of liquefied natural gas.

According to World Nuclear Association information, Russia produced 2508 tU in 2022, making it the sixth largest producer of uranium in the world, while Russian reactor requirements for 2023 were estimated at 6284 tU.

Nuclear advocates have pushed for SMRs for more than a decade, but so far Russia is the only country to put them into commercial use.

While global growth in electricity demand eased slightly to 2.2% in 2023 due to falling electricity consumption in advanced economies, it is projected to accelerate to an average of 3.4% from 2024 through to 2026.

Divided into four operational areas—NAIRR Open, NAIRR Secure, NAIRR Software, and NAIRR Classroom—the NAIRR pilot is bringing private sector, non-profit and philanthropic organizations, industry partners, and nine Federal agencies together to provide access to advanced computing, datasets, models, software, training, and user support to U.S. based researchers and educators.

Brent dipped 14 cents, or 0.1%, to $79.41 a barrel, WTI ticked down 11 cents, or 0.2%, to $74.26 a barrel.

Naphtha and fuel oil are loaded onto Clearocean Apollon Clyde Noble tankers at the nearby Ust-Luga Oil terminal.

The Sakhalin-2 LNG export plant is the closest to North Asia, home to the world’s top buyers. The facility supplied nearly 10% of Japan’s LNG needs last year, and hasn’t been targeted by Western sanctions due in part to the need to ensure energy security.

In the last few months of 2023, the US ramped up enforcement of the price cap and imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on entities and ships that carried Russian crude oil above the price cap.

Europe is benefiting from record renewables power installations last year, together with massive gas stockpiling and a relatively mild winter — some cold snaps aside.