In the event of a cessation of gas supplies from Russia, the European Union is provided with gas for the coming weeks, the union has agreements on LNG supplies from the USA and Qatar, but the price level in this case cannot be predicted. This was stated by the official representative of the European Commission (EC) Dana Spinant at a press conference in Brussels.
“In the short term, the EU is fully supplied with gas for the coming weeks of winter, even if supplies from Russia are reduced or completely stopped. We have achieved this through additional agreements with LNG suppliers such as Qatar, the USA, and Nigeria. We have agreed that 120 additional tankers will be able to deliver up to 10 billion cubic meters to the EU countries. m of gas,” said the representative of the EC.
At the moment, natural gas satisfies 23% of energy demand in the European Union, while 90% of the “blue fuel” the EU imports.
“U.S. LNG, if priced competitively, could play an important role in EU gas supplies, contributing to the diversification and energy security of the EU,” according to the EU-US LNG trade report from the European Commission.
For the entire period of deliveries (since 2016), according to the report, the EU imported 64 billion cubic meters from the United States. m. of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for a total of €21 billion. Last year, the volume of LNG purchases in the United States became the maximum – more than 22 billion cubic meters. m. with an estimated cost of €12 billion.
Earlier, Gazprom reported that European underground gas storage facilities were empty by 93.4% of the volume pumped there in the summer of 2021 by mid-February. Russian gas supplies to European countries began to fall from mid-2021, and from the beginning of 2022, the decline has intensified.
Read about gas purchases by Europe in the publication “Kommersant” “Delay of oil is similar.”