"Today, the US is imposing sanctions on the Russia-based entity KVT-RUS and identifying the vessel Fortuna as blocked property," Pompeo said in a statement.

China had suspended crude imports from the US over December 2019-April 2020 due to the trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.

Natural gas consumption countrywide increased both due to the rapidly falling temperatures and a rise in household gas consumption with time spent at home increased due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and lockdowns.

The European Commission is planning to issue new proposals for gas legislation in the last quarter of 2021. EU gas markets are on the cusp of dramatic changes.

On a metric tons basis, the December throughput went up 2.8% from November and 2.1% from a year ago to 60 million mt.

Spot LNG prices LNG-AS have nearly tripled since early November as freezing temperatures across North Asia boosted demand and depleted inventories. Since July, prices are up a dizzying 1,000%.

U.S. crude oil production will average 11.1 million b/d in 2021, down 0.2 million b/d from 2020 as result of a decline in drilling activity related to low oil prices.

U.S. marketed gas production for 2021 will fall 2% and average 96.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d).

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 3.2 million barrels to 482.2 million barrels.

Assuming human behavior holds steady, a big transition to electricity will send demand skyrocketing. Making matters worse, this will all be happening as we transition away from easily scaled fossil fuel sources to more finicky renewables.

The modern grid, also known as the smart grid, is interconnected and automated, with many technologies involved, including artificial intelligence (AI), edge computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

China total oil imports over 2020 were up 7% year on year at 10.86 million b/d

The combination of a severe cold snap in Asia, supply outages and maritime congestion has propelled spot prices for LNG to previously unforeseen heights. The North Asian price benchmark has now risen 18-fold in less than nine months, outperforming other commodities

Brent crude oil spot prices to average $53 per barrel (b) in both 2021 and 2022 compared with an average of $42/b in 2020.

State-owned Qatar Petroleum is planning a to increase LNG production by 43% to 110 million mt/year by 2025, up from 77 million mt/year currently.