The EU warned of “decades” of dependence on American LNG

The EU will be forced to buy American LNG for several decades after a sharp reduction in Russian gas purchases, an EC spokeswoman said. The Financial Times called her words a “signal” to American exporters Floating LNG terminal of the American company Excelerate Energy

Europe, which is currently trying to stop gas supplies from RUSSIA, risks falling into a new dependence  - this time on the United States. Ditte Juul Jorgensen, DIRECTOR General of the European Commission's (EC) Energy Directorate, stated this in an interview with the Financial Times.

The bloc's dependence on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from the United States is high and could continue for "a couple of decades," an EC official said .

As the FT notes, Brussels is currently balancing between the need to improve energy security by moving away from Russian gas and achieving goals for zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. The newspaper calls Jorgensen's statement "one of the strongest signals" from the EU that the bloc expects to consume American LNG for many years to come, despite the concerns of environmentalists and some EU politicians.

At the same time, American analysts interviewed by the newspaper noted that Jorgensen’s words will help “clear the way” for European buyers hoping to sign deals with American suppliers after 2030. “For US developers trying to get deals done, this is a really positive signal,” said LNG analyst at consultancy ICIS Fauzea Rahman.

In 2021, Russia accounted for about 45% of European gas imports and about 40% of consumption. But after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and the introduction of Western sanctions, Russian gas supplies to the EU fell sharply. This, in particular, was facilitated by the Kremlin’s demands on unfriendly countries to pay for gas in rubles, the cessation of transit through Poland via the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline and the Nord Stream offshore pipeline, and other supply disruptions.

In March of this year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU had overcome its dependence on Russian oil and gas. According to her, over the past eight months (by that time), Russia had reduced gas exports to Europe by 80%, but the EU managed to successfully compensate for the losses.

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Exports of Russian pipeline gas to Europe may fall by 35 billion cubic meters this year. m compared to last year, said the report of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Last year, gas supplies from Russia to Europe, according to IEA estimates, decreased by 90 billion cubic meters. m. Gazprom's exports to its key foreign markets in 2022 amounted to 100.9 billion cubic meters. m, thereby reaching the lowest level in the company's history.