For the first time, the European Union (EU) is importing more natural gas from the United States than from Russia through pipelines, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.
“Russia’s recent sharp cuts in natural gas flows to the EU make this the first month in history that the European Union has imported more liquid gas (LNG) from the United States than via pipeline from Russia,” explained Fatih Birol, director executive of the International Energy Agency, on Twitter.
According to Birol, “the drop in Russian supply requires efforts to reduce EU demand and prepare for a harsh winter.”
Europe is looking to alternatives such as American liquefied natural gas in place of Russian gas after the company Gazprom reduced supplies through Nord Stream, its biggest gas pipeline to European territory, and cut off distribution to countries that did not meet new payment terms. imposed by the regime of Vladimir Putin.
As a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the EU has agreed to an additional 15 billion cubic meters of US LNG this year in a bid to replace Russian gas.
Natural gas consumption is lower in Europe during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere, a period that has been used by countries on the continent to increase their inventories for the winter, in order to reduce dependence on Russia at the time of greatest demand. .
Recently, the IEA had already warned that Europe must prepare for the total interruption of natural gas supplies from Russia in the next boreal winter.