By Kate Abnett
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union and United States will pledge on Monday to work to ensure liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies can respond to disruptions in pipeline gas flows, as tensions rise between the West and Russia, Europe’s biggest gas supplier.
Europe’s dependence on Russian gas has come under scrutiny in recent months as lower than expected supply from Russia and rising tensions over Moscow’s build-up of troops on its border with Ukraine have helped to push prices to record highs.
Russia, the European Union’s biggest gas supplier, provides about 40% of Europe’s natural gas.
At a meeting on Monday, senior EU and U.S. officials will commit to cooperate more on LNG, according to a draft of a joint statement seen by Reuters.
“The EU and the United States intend to work together so that global liquefied natural gas markets have the capacity to provide additional and diversified supplies in case of pipeline gas disruptions in the short term,” according to the draft, which could change before it is published.
That could assist if Russia curbed gas flows in response to Western economic sanctions if it invades Ukraine. The Kremlin says it is not planning an invasion.
Lower than usual gas supplies from Russia in recent months have prompted EU officials and the International Energy Agency to accuse Moscow of contributing to an under-supply to Europe. Gazprom has said it is fulfilling all long-term contracts.
“It is unacceptable to use energy supply as a weapon or geopolitical lever,” the draft EU-U.S. statement said.
Europe’s LNG imports hit a record high in January at 11.8 bcm, with nearly 45% coming from the United States.
The EU is reviewing its contingency plans for gas supply disruptions and EU officials have been in talks since late last year with suppliers including Qatar and Norway about boosting volumes.
Initially, the extra plans were primarily a response to high prices, but the heightened tensions with Russia have intensified the talks.
“There was a clear willingness from Azerbaijan to support the EU in case of a disruption of gas flows,” EU energy policy chief Kadri Simson said after meetings government officials in Azerbaijan last week.
Unused LNG infrastructure capacity in Europe could handle bigger volumes, although analysts warn of bottlenecks including limited global liquefaction capacity.
Monday’s draft statement made clear gas could only be a short-term solution, citing the longer term need to move away from fossil fuels, such as gas, as the EU seeks to limit global warming and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett; editing by Barbara Lewis)
