In this week's Market Movers Europe with Laura Loguercio:
- Turkey, East Mediterranean in focus for oil
- Black Sea Grain Initiative to be extended
- EC's AggregateEU gas platform launches opening tender
- UK energy Strategy and Policy consultation is underway
This week, Turkey is under scrutiny for any potential impact on markets as the weekend's landmark elections are likely to result in a runoff in two weeks' time.
An immediate issue is the ongoing standoff over Iraqi crude oil exports through Turkey. The northern route through Turkey handled 450,000 barrels a day before it was shut down on March 25.
The election result could impact Turkey's relationships with its NATO allies and Russia.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has become an increasingly important supplier of oil and gas to Turkey at discounted prices.
Additionally, Russia, Turkey and the UN are expected to reach an agreement to once again extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative, set to expire Thursday, following progress in talks last week. The agreement is seen as critical to global food security.
In gas markets, the EC's joint purchasing and demand aggregation platform, AggregateEU, attracted 11.6 Bcm of gas demand in its opening tender last week.
Today marks the deadline for participants to submit demand through the platform, before being matched with potential suppliers on Tuesday, with the results of the matching process published on Wednesday, May 17.
UK power market participants will begin work on their submissions to the government's Strategy and Policy Statement consultation for energy.
At the heart of the proposals are three strategic priorities focused on enabling clean energy infrastructure, ensuring energy security, and making the energy system fit for the future.
I'm Laura Loguercio, thank you for kicking off your Monday with S&P Global Commodity Insights.