Interview Bert den Ouden, CEO APX-Endex 3 September 2010 EU is finally becoming one copper plate These past few months have seen a number of major steps towards a further integration of EU power markets. As early as next year, 80% of national power markets will be connected to each other in a process called "market coupling". This will have revolutionary consequences for the European energy market. It will allow more or less unhampered electricity trade from Finland to Spain and from Austria to England. The European electricity market is – finally – becoming what it was promised to be when the liberalisation of the energy market started in 1998: one single copper plate! EER asked Bert den Ouden, CEO of Anglo-Dutch power exchange APX-Endex,  and long-time advocate of market integration, what is going on - and what it means for the European economy. The answer is: a lot.  'Prices will converge. Markets will become more efficient. Renewable energy will receive a boost.'
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Blog 2 September 2010 To Russia with love In early August, as most Europeans were enjoying their holidays, Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger broke a taboo by making a significant political energy statement at a time when the EU is still busy discussing its energy strategy for 2020. He told journalists from Kommersant, one of Russia’s leading business newspapers, that ‘Russia’s stake in the EU’s gas market will in the medium-term perspective increase to 35%’. Our Brussels correspondent Hughes Belin wonders what this means for the EU's energy diversification policy - and for the Nabucco pipeline in particular.	Viewpoint 31 August 2010 South Stream steals a march on Nabucco By Kash Burchett, Datamonitor Until recently, Europe’s booming demand for gas and its limited reserves made it plausible to argue that the Russian-backed South Stream gas pipeline and the EU-backed Nabucco pipeline could both be viable. However, now that the recession and diluted environmental commitments have reduced demand and the unconventional gas revolution has increased supply, the competition between the two projected pipelines has become a zero-sum game. Nabucco and South Stream have become engaged in a ‘winner-takes-all’ contest to supply Europe with gas. And recent developments suggest South Stream may have stolen a march on Nabucco.
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Report 26 August 2010 Dutch gas experts ready for global mission By Karel Beckman The major Dutch gas infrastructure companies have launched a unique non-profit company that stands ready to solve gas infrastructure problems anywhere in the world. The Global Gas Networks Initiative (GGNI), as it is called, is manned by just-retired senior gas experts eager to share their know-how and experience. The Dutch government supports the venture ‘for strategic reasons’. ‘If Dutch companies win tenders because of GGNI’s efforts then that would be a positive outcome of course.’	Analysis 19 August 2010 Navigating between Nabucco and South Stream By Ramiz Mammadov Italian energy giant ENI has come up with a proposal to transport gas in the form of CNG (compressed natural gas) by ships across the Caspian Sea from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan. This looks like a clever move to facilitate both the EU-backed pipeline and its Russian-backed competitor South Stream, in which ENI has a stake.
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Recent posts Oceans of … - 12 August 2010 Europe’s deepwater operations face political storm - 6 August 2010 Algerian gas – still a key part of southern Europe's energy mix - 28 July 2010 In this article we review Algeria’s position as a gas supplier to Europe and the challenges that the new energy minister, Youssef Yousfi, and his team face. Wet barrels versus paper barrels - 22 July 2010 It appears that paper barrel trading has developed dynamics of its own, to some extent independent of the fundamentals of the oil market. EU struggles to phase out coal subsidies - 14 July 2010 The European Commission wants to extend the aid regime for Europe’s coal sector, which is set to expire at the end of the year, for another decade. Reality check, call to arms or pipe dream? - 8 July 2010 The International Energy Agency has published a detailed new plan for the energy revolution that is to lead us to a low-carbon future. It is clear from this that, if climate change is to be limited, huge efforts will have to be made. Blowing up the blowout - 5 July 2010 Without denying the seriousness of the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the Energy Policy Research Foundation (EPRINC) puts the BP blowout in some much-needed perspective in an interesting new report: “The Blowout and the Deepwater Moratorium”. A breakthrough for second-generation biofuels - 1 July 2010 Dutch technology company Topell Energy and RWE Innogy are building a new plant that will use the process of “torrefaction” to turn wood residues into a type of bio-coal that can be used as a perfect substitute for coal in power plants. Shell: from oil tanker to floating LNG vessel - 28 June 2010 Shell is rapidly changing from an oil into a gas company. This transformation of Europe’s largest company offers new opportunities, but also significant new risks that have yet to be fully digested by investors.

All articles published by European Energy Review are filed in our files section.