Although the escalating tensions with Russia over Ukraine have raised concerns over Russian gas flows and prompted EU officials to seek alternative supplies, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasized on Tuesday that the bloc is able to cope with a partial disruption to Russian gas imports.
According to Von der Leyen, the EU is rather on the safe side when it comes to gas supply despite the risk of partial disruption or further decrease of Gazprom’s gas deliveries.
Noting that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis had emphasized the need for Europe to curb dependence on Russian gas, von der Leyen this would be also aided by the bloc’s planned shift to renewable energy.
Europe covers about 40% of its natural gas needs with supplies from Russia, but the combination of lower-than-expected imports and Europe’s tight supply last year collided with the high demand, causing gas prices to skyrocket.
Now, the EU has initiated talks about increasing gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries – through additional shipments or contract swaps – with the US, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Nigeria, South Korea, and Qatar, which will host a summit of top natural gas exporters, including Russia.
Among the first countries that have agreed to swap contracts in favor of the EU, according to Von der Leyen, is Japan which agreed last week to divert some LNG cargoes to Europe.
In a sign of solidarity with allies and like-minded partners, Japan’s PM Kishida decided to share the surplus of LNG with Europe and has confirmed that Japan will continue to cooperate to ensure energy security.
Previously in January, European LNG imports hit a record high of around 11 bcm, and just under half of it came from the United States. Refinitiv data showed that about two-thirds of US LNG volumes went to Europe, hitting a new record of 7,3 million tons compared to December when the gas prices and demand drove US LNG exports to a record 61% or 7.14 million mpta.
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