MCF Energy Projects Persist As EU Leans Right

EU elections come at a testing time for voter confidence in a bloc of some 450 million people. Over the last five years, the EU has been shaken by the coronavirus pandemic, an economic slump and an energy crisis fueled by Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to AP 

 

Onshore natural gas projects in Europe have jumped through the roof over the last two years. Some of these projects are situated in Europe’s western region and are anticipated to come online and could start contributing to the grid as early as Q4 this year. 

 

EU Energy Landscape Changes

 

This is timely, given Norway, who is Europe’s largest in-house supplier, just recently faced a supply halt triggered by a pipe fault. Flows into the UK’s Easington terminal, an entry point for a third of Britain’s supply, were curbed and as a result, market prices jumped to their highest point this year, with futures increasing by 13%. The incident demonstrates the bloc is not yet immune to disruption and that its invasion wounds are still fresh.

 

Green Policies Pushed To The Backburner

 

This also comes as elections in Europe take place. The last election, held in 2019, served a more stable Europe, but now rebuilding on shaky grounds, the harsh realities of the time and infrastructure costs associated with bringing renewables into the EU energy mix, in particular, are unfavourably surfacing.

This notion is consistent and reflected in the stances of all the Major parties running, with the exception of the Green Party – which has faced a major setback in the polls because it’s the only group to include a target for phasing out fossil fuels in its manifesto.

 

 

MCF Energy Pioneering Alternative Energy Sources

 

Many of the projects in western Europe are being led by MCF Energy, a natural gas explorer and producer formed by a team of long-time energy experts in 2022 when Russia first made an advance into Ukraine. MCF Energy’s exploration projects have been assisted by machine learning and AI and are using quite literally industry-leading technology to quicken the pace at which it could contribute to the grid. 

In two short years MCF has made impressive headway at its Welchau discovery in Austria. Austria has been energy-reliant on Russia and has been openly criticised for its continued reliance on its LNG, despite claiming it would end its supply reliance.

Testing of its Welchau Discovery will begin in October, with timing to market depending on the product. It’s planned re-entry at Lech in Germany for later this year, and also plans to drill another well at Lech East in Germany. In Q4, the company is looking to restore its three shut-in wells to production in the Czech Republic, which they hope to bring online this year as well. 

It’s an active year for MCF Energy for a few reasons — European energy security.

 

The Importance Of Adapting Energy Sources

 

LNG supply refills are timed with market price, meaning there have been periods of time, over the course of the last year, in which supply has been low  and refilled only when price has come down. This ‘hurry and wait’’ scenario, especially in instances of worse versions of the Norway Scare, could be eliminated with a stable supply of domestic natural gas as it would allow better price control and less volatility.

At present, Europe struggles to bring down its debt and an investment in new power generation projects is expected to cost well over $3.5 trillion for wind and solar projects alone, according to BNEF. It would also need to spend $1.5 trillion over the same period on facilities to produce clean hydrogen.

Europe continues to face challenges with its energy supply and without security, it will ultimately fail on two fronts. First, by protecting its citizens and energy consumers from energy instability brought forward by Russia, then by the US, and secondly, in aiding an expansion of energy sources which is anticipated to happen over a longer term than previously expected.