Energy head says EU might use US LNG in a year instead of Russian
The European Union has the potential to eliminate its reliance on Russian gas within a timeframe of six to 12 months by substituting it with liquefied natural gas from the United States. This stance was conveyed to EU officials by US energy secretary Chris Wright on Friday. Wright addressed the audience in Brussels, where he engaged with EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen on Thursday to deliberate on the cessation of Europe’s acquisitions of Russian energy.
The European Union is currently engaged in negotiations regarding legal proposals aimed at phasing out imports of Russian oil and gas by January 2028. Additionally, a ban on short-term contracts is set to take effect starting next year. “I believe this could be accomplished in as little as 12 months, potentially even within six months,” Wright stated, regarding the timeline for the EU’s phase-out of Russian gas.”I certainly expressed the view that we could accomplish it more quickly.” From the perspective of the US, there is potential for a quicker execution, and I believe it would be beneficial to advance those dates even further. “I don’t know that that’s going to happen, but that was dialogued,” he stated. A spokesperson for the European Commission has yet to provide a response to the request for comment.
The United States is intensifying its efforts to persuade Europe to halt energy revenue flowing to Moscow, with the aim of bringing an end to the conflict in Ukraine. Russia’s fuel revenue, being its most lucrative export, has significantly contributed to financing the war. On Thursday, Jorgensen stated that it was unacceptable for the EU to persist in importing Russian energy. However, he acknowledged that the 2028 phase-out plan was ambitious and would guarantee that EU countries do not encounter energy price spikes or supply shortages during this period. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated this week that the bloc is contemplating a more rapid phase-out of Russian fossil fuels as part of new sanctions against Moscow, though she did not elaborate on how Brussels would implement this strategy. New sanctions necessitate the unanimous approval of all 27 EU member states.
Hungary and Slovakia have thus far resisted sanctions on Russian gas, prompting the EU to propose a phase-out by 2028, a measure that can be ratified by a reinforced majority of EU member states. “The quicker we transition away, the sooner we can exert pressure on Russia,” Wright stated. According to EU figures, Europe is anticipated to acquire approximately 13 percent of its gas from Russia this year, a significant decrease from the nearly 45 percent it sourced prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
