Russia's Gazprom Oil Giant Hints at Coming Gas Shortage in Europe

Although Russia may boost its share in the European gas market to 40 per cent in the coming years, the EU states should eventually get prepared for a gas deficit and a rise in fuel prices.
Sputnik

A number of analysts predict that Europe may soon face a gas slump and abrupt rise in fuel costs, Alexander Medvedev, the Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee of Russian energy company Gazprom pointed out in an interview to Reuters news agency.

"Europe has got it totally wrong when reckoning it can do without additional gas supplies, and if it actually needs them, it can obtain them from sources outside Russia," he said.

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He noted that gas imports from the US will remain “humble, costly and will be primarily oriented at Asia.” Nevertheless, Russia will manage to supply Europe with sufficient amounts of gas, despite the reported increase in gas exports to China.

He said Europe had to decide without delay.

"It has to think about which supplier will feed the increasing demand after 2025. I am sad to say that there is no fuel energy dialogue between Russia and the EU," the top manager underscored.

Even if Gazprom launches the so-called Nord Stream-2 and Turkish Stream, their volumes would not be sufficient to compensate for the potential deficit, Medvedev believes. "And neither can LNG [liquified natural gas] bridge this gap," he stated.

Earlier, Medvedev reported an increase in Gazprom’s share in the European market, which now stands at 34.7 per cent.

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