Europe's Covid-19 impact to stretch into 2021
Forecaster predicts that countries will take a managed approach, spreading the outbreak over many months
Consultancy Rystad Energy expects the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on European countries, and thus their energy demand, to last “the entirety of 2020 and, in some cases, into 2021”, as nations opt for a more gradualist quarantine method of tackling the outbreak rather than the East Asian lockdown approach. CEO Jarand Rystad concludes that the lockdowns rolled out by countries such as China to slow the rapid spread of the virus are not sustainable in the long term in Europe as injection rates will simply spike again once the measures are withdrawn. Instead, Rystad expects countries to have to manage widespread exposure with measures tailored to limit infections to a manageable burden
Also in this section
20 February 2026
The country is pushing to increase production and expand key projects despite challenges including OPEC+ discipline and the limitations of its export infrastructure
20 February 2026
Europe has transformed into a global LNG demand powerhouse over the last few years, with the fuel continuing to play a key role in safeguarding the continent’s energy security, Carsten Poppinga, chief commercial officer at Uniper, tells Petroleum Economist
20 February 2026
Sempra Infrastructure’s vice president for marketing and commercial development, Carlos de la Vega, outlines progress across the company’s US Gulf Coast and Mexico Pacific Coast LNG portfolio, including construction at Port Arthur LNG, continued strong performance at Cameron LNG and development of ECA LNG
19 February 2026
US LNG exporter Cheniere Energy has grown its business rapidly since exporting its first cargo a decade ago. But Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin tells Petroleum Economist that, as in the past, the company’s future expansion plans are anchored by high levels of contracted offtake, supporting predictable returns on investment
