[Pops]

Luckily the US has exposed ourselves to the global gas market.

One big reason for surging fertilizer prices is surging prices of coal and natural gas. The urea in your urine is produced in the liver. The industrial kind is made through a century-old process that uses natural gas or gas derived from coal to produce ammonia, which is then used to synthesize urea.

China and Russia, two of the biggest producers, have restricted exports to ensure supplies for their own farmers. In China’s case, an energy crunch led some areas to ration electricity, which forced fertilizer factories to slash production.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/06/busi ... rices.html

But it's not just for fertilizer any more:

Freight trucks worldwide are starting to be sidelined by a urea shortage. A wide-ranging variety of factors, from rising fertilizer and natural gas prices to an export prohibition, have strained the world’s supply of urea.

Urea is the primary component of the diesel exhaust fluid [DEF] necessary in ensuring that diesel combustion engines function within nitrogen oxide emissions standards across the developed world. A urea-water solution is injected into the exhaust stream of diesel vehicles before the gasses pass through a catalytic converter.

https://jalopnik.com/global-urea-shorta ... 1848201479

There is a DEF chip on diesels that shut the engine down when DEF runs out.

Oh, about that chip:

Ongoing shortages of replacement parts for failed diesel exhaust fluid quality sensors are believed to be causing thousands of trucks nationwide to be disabled and parked.

The sensors, which measure the quality and level of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) in the tank, normally retail for roughly $300. But due to global computer chip shortages causing a backlog the part is being offered for sale — in some cases on digital retail sites such as eBay — for as much as $7,000, according to some industry technicians.

“It’s part of the global chip shortage,” Paul Enos, CEO of the Nevada Trucking Association, told Transport Topics. “We’re seeing trucks parked throughout the country. Just here in Nevada, 300 trucks are parked waiting for quality level sensors.”

Enos said there is a fail-safe that’s built into the selective catalytic reduction system of 2010 and newer trucks. “If it senses too much [nitrogen oxide] it will derate the engine,” he said.
https://mtac.us/def-sensor-failures-sid ... of-trucks/

EPA is aware of how the global shortage of Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) sensors is impacting vehicle owners, and we are working diligently with manufacturers to support them in providing solutions.
https://www.epa.gov/recalls/diesel-exha ... ge-updates

[Doly]

Ongoing shortages of replacement parts for failed diesel exhaust fluid quality sensors are believed to be causing thousands of trucks nationwide to be disabled and parked.

I work in electronics, and this is exactly the sort of shortage that worries me the most. Most people aren't aware of this, but sensors are often specialised equipment that is made just in one place in the world. And there are lots of different specialised sensors. Everybody is aware of places like TSMC and the chips they make are something that if you are in the electronics business, you are keeping an eye on. But nobody, as far as I know, is keeping an eye on the zillion sensors out there. People only keep an eye on the sensors they use, not others. And in many cases, a piece of equipment without a working sensor is useless.

[JuanP]

"Russia and China sign major energy deal"
https://www.rt.com/business/548304-russ ... ergy-deal/

"The 30-year agreement will boost gas supplies by 10 billion cubic meters and will be settled in euros"

First, they built the Power of Siberia pipeline, now they are building the Power of Siberia II, and coming next to the real world far away from me and you:
"In January, Gazprom completed an analysis of the project to build the Soyuz Vostok gas pipeline through Mongolia to China, which will make it possible to supply up to 50 billion cubic meters of gas per year to China.

Analysts say Moscow’s ‘gas pivot’ to China poses a challenge for Europe, which has been struggling with skyrocketing energy prices in recent months. Russia remains Europe’s main gas supplier, but the changes it is currently making to its energy transport infrastructure should be taken seriously, analysts note.

Europe’s 541 bcm of annual gas consumption is more than China’s 331 bcm, but the latter is expected to rise to 526 bcm by 2030 as Beijing reduces its dependence on coal. Consulting firm McKinsey estimates that China’s demand for gas will double by 2035. Its annual gas consumption is expected to reach 620 bcm by 2040 and overtake oil as the leading fuel source by 2050, according to data made public in September by Chinese energy giant Sinopec."

I think it is very smart on the part of the Chinese to be securing these decades long contracts. Meanwhile, Europe, which had the first comer advantage where Russian gas supplies were concerned, is doing the opposite, letting long term contracts for Russian natural gas supplies expire, and buying gas for 10 times the price on the spot market.

[dissident]

Where is all the brave talk about US LNG displacing Russian pipeline gas? Why are they bitching about Russia supplying China with gas?

Clowns.