BASF to Downsize ‘Permanently’ in Europe | Hacker News Reader

BASF to Downsize ‘Permanently’ in Europe

ft.com

9 pointsAmbolia9 comments

Unfortunately, de-industrialisation will pick up pace in Europe - the input costs from high and volatile energy prices will make it untenable to maintain much of the manufacturing base there. This war is a disaster for Ukraine, disaster for Russia, disaster for Europe

yeah, in other words, Europe's industry has profited awesomely from 40+ years (many decades) of steady, super-reliable, cheap (wholesale pipeline prices) Russian gas, and now, 40 years into it, after attempting to crush ruble into rubble (good friend+ally Biden quote) something went unexpectedly wrong. Maybe all that cheap-gas-based industry was not very competitive in the first place?

I hope you don't mean to imply that "Europe" unilaterally decided to "crush ruble into rubble" for shits and giggles?

No, it just decided to follow into its Atlantic ally's footsteps without having the clout to weather the economic damage

Surely the better way was to wait silently for tanks first in Moldova, then later in Baltic states and Poland, then Berlin (it was in DDR after all) + huge wave of refugees + more death and torture first on your doorsteps and then in your house. Russia is such a peaceful nation after all, it is all those NATO warmongers who made it rape children in Ukraine.

https://archive.ph/tOxHg

They are going to China and betting on Xi to keep the country in control. Good riddance, BASF.

China is not a low-cost producer of natural gas and doesn't import low-cost natural gas

https://about.bnef.com/blog/rising-gas-prices-threaten-china...

North America, on the other hand, leads the world. Europe has fading production in the North Sea and had a crisis at the Groningen gas field that is further limiting production.

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/dutch-limit-groninge...

For better or worse, Europe is not pursuing fracking. In the long term the world is going to have to green up its chemical industry and BASF could use this as an opportunity to be early to get into the next thing.

Groningen field reduction (your last link) is equivalent to 0.5% of europe's natural gas consumption.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com