"We are looking for more long-term gas supply contracts with Qatar – they have proved a very reliable partner," Mr Fallon told The Sunday Telegraph. "It's very important we strengthen our relationship with them."
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| A bit close to, errr ... |
Diversification is kinda important, Mr F. As Churchill said à propos of the Navy's one-time near total reliance on oil from Persia: “Safety and certainty in oil lie in variety and variety alone.”
ND
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**I thought it was more, actually, but can't be arsed to check just now
11 comments:
Quite. Foresight is essential.
We are all in Qatar, but some of us are looking at the stars.
Also, WTF is a minister doing getting involved with contracts between private energy companies and their suppliers?
Time to get fracking methinks
BE, 'energy security' is part of their brief, or so they are led to believe.
ND often likes to say 'if the lights go out, so do the government' and this is (or we're only 3 square meals from anarchy in other words) is why politicians and civil servants get involved.
Poetic, Sackers - that's how we like it
the pass was sold a long while ago, BE
the Energy Bill crawling its way through Parliament contains a vast array of reserve powers for ministers to intervene piecemeal (which is SL's point) - and you know they won't hesitate
anon - that's a common refrain around here ...
But wasn't Churchill saying that in respect of the decision to buy oil from Shell or AP, both of which were supplied from "Persia".
I gather this led to HMG buying 51% of AP and getting a secret 20 year oil contract.
Surely "energy security" only rears its head when a contracted supplier looks like it might renege?
Or are these guys "running the country" worried that the generators will decide not to buy enough gas? I suppose that could happen if MiliE's retail price freeze comes in...
If I want free markets which party do I vote for?
SK - yes, something like that
BE - not just reneging: the term as generally used includes other threats to reliability, e.g. interference by bad guys, proneness to physical failure
(see this 4-part series I wrote for Sackers)
I'm not sure we have a free-market party anymore, they are all petty interventionists now (perhaps we should start one ...)
ND: we havent had free markets since at least 2008 so it makes sense there are no free market parties.
Aside: did you see the dribble in City Am this morning when Allister Heath, swings between average to excreble with ease claim the energy matkets were a "free market". Does an Oligopolistic, price fixing mrket count as free? Not in my book, the man is a moron.
A bit close to errrr...
Well it's physically close to Iran, though quite why that should be a problem I don't know. Iran isn't likely to start an unprovoked war.
Ah - ok, now I get it....
Jer - yes, and then look even more closely: that big Qatari gas field isn't just nearby Iran - it's shared by Iran (and it's offshore, which is about as vulnerable as can be)
hovis - no I didn't see it. Seems Ofgem is in a lather over what counts as a proper market: "we'll know it when we see it" appears to be their motto
I actually think this is fraught with danger, in circumstances where so much government + regulatory interference is being layered on top of already none-too-robust 'market structures'. They won't be happy to wake up one day & find the Big 6 is down to Big 5 + a corpse
(E.on's request that it be referred to the Competition authorities - who at least have some working principles on this - looks to be the right idea)
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