Amid tensions with Russia over fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Joe Biden pledged to intensify EU-US strategic energy cooperation to ensure security of supply in a joint statement on Friday 28 January.
“We are determined to work closely together to address the current challenges of security of supply and high prices in the energy markets [...] and will work together to ensure the availability of reliable and affordable energy supplies for the citizens and businesses of the EU and its neighbourhood”, the declaration reads.
The intention of the EU and Washington is clear: “to avoid supply shocks, including those that could result from a new Russian invasion of Ukraine”.
The EU intends to work with gas suppliers other than Russia, such as Qatar, Norway, Egypt, Algeria, Azerbaijan and Asian countries, “to provide Europe with additional volumes of natural gas from various sources around the world”.
Russia currently supplies around 40% of the EU’s fossil gas imports, a senior Commission official said. The rest comes from Norway (about 38-39%) and imports (about 20%) of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
These LNG imports have been set at 80 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2021. They come mainly from Russia (18%), the United States (20%), Nigeria (17%), Qatar (20%), Algeria (14%) and Norway (2%), the Commission said.
According to the statement, LNG “can, in the short term, enhance security of supply while continuing to enable the transition to net zero emissions”.
However, the EU’s total LNG import capacity is currently already 66% used.
Asked, therefore, whether LNG could compensate for a possible sharp reduction in Russian gas imports as a result of the geopolitical situation, a senior European Commission official stressed that LNG is only one of the adjustable variables.
“We have gas pipelines, nuclear energy, renewable energy [...], storage, and we can use energy efficiency and demand-side adaptation”, he insisted.
Adding: “It is difficult, if not useless, to make speculations, because everything depends on the duration of the crisis, the absolute level of supply that is affected, the weather...”
“Working together as Member States to have more buying power makes a lot of sense and I think that is exactly what we are looking for: how we can bring together, on the European side, different Member States to buy LNG or additional gas to existing contracts”, another senior EU official said.
It should also be noted that an EU-US Energy Council meeting will be held on 7 February.
See the statement: https://bit.ly/3r6G3vi (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)