Don’t expect big oil to fix the energy crunch

POWER CUTS in China. Coal shortages in India. Spikes in electricity prices across Europe. A scramble for petrol in Britain. Blackouts and fuel blazes in Lebanon. Symptoms of dysfunction in global energy markets are everywhere.In recent days the mayhem has pushed oil prices in America above $80 a barrel, their highest level since late 2014. Natural-gas prices in Europe have tripled this year. Demand for coal, supposedly on the slag heap of history, has surged. The chief executive of one commodities-trading firm says he comes into the office at 5am in order to get the latest news on blackouts in one Asian country or another. And winter, with its need for heating, has yet to arrive in the northern hemisphere.