These Europeans are so tiresome. Everything can be ignored until it's a crisis, and then it's 'meeting time' while blaming external forces in the meantime.
The current miserable state of their energy grids and fossil fuel supplies for the coming winter - the severity of which they have absolutely no control over, contrary to their most fervent green fever dreams - seems to have just become apparent.
Not so much that winter stores are lagging, which they are...
...Meanwhile, storage levels across the European Union were 74.6% full as of Sunday, well below the historical average for this time of year.
Inventories recorded their first net decline last Tuesday, before injections resumed. But colder weather in the coming weeks could soon reverse that trend, dashing hopes that mild temperatures could help boost inventories late into the injection season.
...but that the realization has dawned that perhaps they haven't given as much thought to the 'what to do to fix it' as they should have. And have most definitely ignored all the 'what put us in this hole' navel-gazing that might have helped fix it.
The price of natural gas hit a four-year high this week - in October, for crying out loud. All based on speculation about supply interruptions continuing from the Middle East for liquid natural gas deliveries (LNG), the magic juice that backs up all the green dreamers' renewables when the sun doesn't shine, or the wind doesn't blow.
European natural-gas prices climbed above 97 euros a megawatt-hour for the first time since late 2022, as colder weather threatens to lift demand across the continent while the Iran war continues to disrupt global supplies.
The Dutch TTF front-month contract, Europe’s benchmark, was up 0.1% to 96.63 euros a megawatt-hour in afternoon trading on Monday after reaching 97.50 euros earlier in the session. Prices remain below the peaks of the 2022 energy crisis but are at their highest levels since late December that year.
Oil is also providing inflation fuel for European pocketbooks, as tight supplies and even tighter refining capacity are sending prices soaring.
At one time, the Europeans, besides providing much of their own oil, refined much of it at home. As you can tell, that's not so much the case now.
This chart, on the European Commission's own page regarding oil and petroleum product production in the EU, must have been produced and loaded in the middle of the night. Because, judging by the announcement from the unelected Empress of Europe, Bond villainess and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and her energy commissioner today, they had no idea they had a problem on their hands until, I guess, like, yesterday.
NOW, you see, they're all about 'increasing refining capabilities.'
THIS CRISIS IS A WAKE-UP CALL!
EU Seeks to Halt Refinery Decline as Fuel Crisis Raises Alarm
The European Union wants to stem a decline of its oil-refining industry and increase output from existing plants as surging fuel prices expose the risks of relying on imports.
The current energy crisis is a “wake-up call” for Europe, Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen told reporters after meeting with the region’s refiners. About a quarter of EU refineries have shut over the past two decades, cutting the bloc’s domestic processing capacity by roughly 10%, while divestments have accelerated, he said.
“We need to counter this trend and ensure that we have adequate and flexible refining capacity in Europe,” Jørgensen said. “This is not just a matter of economic competitiveness. It is also a matter of security.”
I guess the near-complete deindustrialization of Germany wasn't crisis enough.
Or perhaps realizing, as Russian oil and refining capacity went offline, that maybe a backup plan was needed?
'Prices are only high' because of a 'war beyond our borders,' says von der Leyen. So they're going to turn loose some of those oil reserves, and talk about loosening up the restrictions on refiners.
I love a decisive woman of action.
On energy.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) October 16, 2026
Households and industry are paying the price for a war far beyond our borders.
On the short-term, we are acting at global and EU level.
Releasing oil reserves, extending our temporary State aid, postponing methane rules by 1 year, supporting refineries and pooling… pic.twitter.com/296V0IMKBG
...On the short-term, we are acting at global and EU level.
Releasing oil reserves, extending our temporary State aid, postponing methane rules by 1 year, supporting refineries and pooling energy demand.
The mid-term answer is clear: replacing imported fossil fuels with electricity made in Europe.
Stellar plan.
NAH
Germany is running out of refineries, and it now admits that’s a problem. Economy Minister Katherina Reiche: “Whoever loses the refinery loses not only the supply for the gas station, but above all for the chemical complex.” Berlin now says it wants to stop more refineries closing. Look at the timing. Shell stopped processing crude at its 140,000 b/d Wesseling refinery last year. BP’s 250,000 b/d Gelsenkirchen has been up for sale since early 2025 with no buyer. Scotland lost Grangemouth, 150,000 b/d. Europe chose to import its diesel and jet fuel. Now the imports are the problem. Russian diesel exports hit a decade low. Gulf fuel exports run at about half of normal. US diesel costs about twice a barrel of crude. On Friday Germany’s stockpiling agency EBV put out a tender to sell diesel, heating oil and crude from its strategic reserves. In July it was still buying diesel to refill them. Germany’s reserve was meant for an emergency. It’s now dipping into it as winter starts. You can shut a refinery in a year. Building one takes most of a decade.
— Jack Prandelli (@jackprandelli) October 23, 2026
Berlin now says it wants to stop more refineries closing.
Look at the timing.
Shell stopped processing crude at its 140,000 b/d Wesseling refinery last year.
BP’s 250,000 b/d Gelsenkirchen has been up for sale since early 2025 with no buyer.
Scotland lost Grangemouth, 150,000 b/d.
Europe chose to import its diesel and jet fuel.
Now the imports are the problem.
Russian diesel exports hit a decade low.
Gulf fuel exports run at about half of normal.
US diesel costs about twice a barrel of crude.
On Friday Germany’s stockpiling agency EBV put out a tender to sell diesel, heating oil and crude from its strategic reserves.
In July it was still buying diesel to refill them.
Germany’s reserve was meant for an emergency. It’s now dipping into it as winter starts.
You can shut a refinery in a year.
Building one takes most of a decade.
And that's what they're going to do next about this crisis - talk.
CATCH US NEXT YEAR WITH ANY AGENDA ITEMS
All said, the European Commission is going to take its sweet time and revert into the matter “early next year.” So more than a wake up call it has been a gentle awakening followed by several months of luxuriating in bed.
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) October 28, 2026
Which only adds fuel to the fire that this has been the EU's plan all along - keeping the peasantry in thrall and immobile, through whatever mechanisms they can.
How can EU sound the alarm about something it wanted to happen?! EU wanted oil refineries to shut. It added unbearable costs and regulation guaranteeing that outcome. They can feign "shock" all they want, but this was their intention all along. A poorer Europe, as they "saved" the world.
— James Holland (@James7Holland) October 28, 2026
A poorer Europe, as they "saved" the world.
According to Ursula and her toadie, the commission has met with refiners to 'explore' ways to up their game. And the refiners have submitted plans that the commission will now carefully peruse during the cold winter months to see if there's something they can all agree on to actually do.
...Brussels launched talks with European refiners on Wednesday to explore ways of boosting fuel production at existing facilities. Further technical discussions are planned, with another meeting scheduled for early 2027 to assess progress.
The Commission said the industry had put forward proposals that it would now examine, although it did not specify whether the plans would involve reopening closed facilities, expanding existing plants or investing in new capacity.
"We will work to increase outputs from refining assets in Europe. The industry has made some suggestions that we need to assess," Jørgensen said.
Nonetheless, the initiative reflects a growing recognition in Brussels that securing supplies of crude oil alone is not enough. The EU must also have the industrial capacity to turn it into the diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products its economy needs.
Oh, good luck with that.
Especially as the cash-strapped EU wants all the ideas from the oil industry but has given them no guidance for how to do what they're asking within God knows what parameters the fickle, schizophrenic climate freaks at the EU will come up with.
And all of this is expensive.
...The push to retain more refining capacity also raises a conflict of interests with the EU's climate goals.
Brussels wants to reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels, but it must still secure the fuels its economy consumes during the transition.
European refineries face pressure from high operating costs, competition from larger facilities abroad and the long-term prospect of declining demand for conventional transport fuels as electrification advances.
Reversing the decline could require substantial investment, but the Commission has yet to set out financial incentives, regulatory changes or concrete capacity targets.
Refiners won't upgrade or open new facilities without substantial safeguards to ensure that the money spent isn't wasted when the EU orders the refineries shut down two years from now, if they get built at all.
Brussels Brahmins really are hideous caretakers of the nanny state they rule over. At the very least, one is supposed to make at least a minimum effort to keep the subjects barely alive.
What is the point of a European commission if they lack the foresight that half the population of Europe has? Surely the whole point of them is to foresee and manage these issues. Instead they spent 20 years intentionally forcing refineries to close and now say "Oops".
— Steve Loftus (@LoftusSteve) October 28, 2026
The EU Commission is a European Van Winkle without any of the charm.
