Chinese 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 yuan bills and Russian 1,000 and 100 ruble bills - Sputnik International, 1920
Economy
Get breaking stories and analysis on the global economy from Sputnik.

EU to Face Gas Scarcity As Energy Market Heads For Period Of Turmoil, Says Gazprom

© AP Photo Qatari liquid natural gas (LNG) tanker ship being loaded up with LNG at Raslaffans Sea Port, northern Qatar
 Qatari liquid natural gas (LNG) tanker ship being loaded up with LNG at Raslaffans Sea Port, northern Qatar - Sputnik International, 1920, 05.10.2023
Subscribe
The European Union is grappling with the repercussions of cutting off its reliable energy source because of sanctions against Russia. The shift towards a costlier and less reliable source of LNG raises critical concerns about the bloc's energy security.
Senior managers at Gazprom, on Tuesday, hinted that a scarcity of natural gas was looming in the European Union because of instability in its energy market.
The unprecedented Western sanctions imposed last year against Russia and the deliberate destruction of Nord Stream 1 & 2 pipelines exacerbated a marked dip from Gazprom, formerly the bloc's foremost gas provider, to the 27-member union.
"The fact that the systemic deficit has not gone away is manifested not only by the higher price level in 2023 compared with the pre-Covid years but also by the persistence of a stable contango in the natural gas market," noted Gazprom’s senior managers, Aleksandr Shapin and Sergey Komlev.

In a contango market, the futures price of a commodity exceeds its spot price, encouraging traders to hoard it until more advantageous resale prices emerge. Gazprom managers point out that this price trend raises concerns about the EU’s energy security stability, initially designed for emergencies, now encountering renewed problems.

Since last year, the European Union tilted towards curtailing its dependency on Russian gas and substituting it with other liquefied natural gas import sources such as Qatar, the US, etc. Thus, the United States has assumed the role of the predominant gas supplier to the bloc, constituting up to 35 percent of its imports.
A small vehicle drives past a network of piping that makes up pieces of a train at Cameron LNG export facility in Hackberry, La., March 31, 2022.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 25.09.2023
World
EU to Rely on US LNG 'For Decades' Amid Backfiring Anti-Russia Sanctions
Subsequently, Gazprom's top managers alluded to the ensuing energy crisis rocking the bloc as dependent on the cessation of relations with the energy giant. They stressed that this is principally attributed to a substantial uptick in the share of LNG considered "less reliable" compared with pipeline-delivered gas, which is predominantly provided through extended contractual commitments.
Western economic circles and political leaders have raised concerns about the problems of adopting pricier and less eco-friendly LNG. Some have gone so far as to characterize the sabotage of the Nord Stream project as an act of "economic warfare" with repercussions for the entire union.
Before the Ukraine conflict, the European Union received a substantial portion of its natural gas supply, roughly 155 billion cubic meters (bcm), from Russia via pipelines. In 2022, however, these deliveries plummeted to 60 bcm, and the EU is bracing itself for further cuts to 20 bcm.
  LNG plant in Russian Far East - Sputnik International, 1920, 10.09.2023
Economy
LNG Exports From Russia Increased by Several Percent Since Year Start
Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала