Can we eliminate the dependence on Russian gas? AAHAHAAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH, of course, of course not.

In the week that Gazprom finally did what Europe feared it would do and began cutting gas supplies to countries that weren't willing to pay them in rubles, Russia's dependence on gas really hit the spotlight. And at least one country in Europe believes it can eliminate its dependence on it sooner than previously believed. Bloomberg reported earlier this week that the UK may stop importing Russian natural gas before the end of this year. Citing an unnamed source familiar with the government's plans, the report notes that Russian gas exports to the UK were already a small enough part of total gas imports to make phasing out possible.

Details of how exactly the government intended to eliminate these imports were not disclosed, but given that Russian gas accounted for only 4% of the UK's total gas imports last year, replacing Russia with another supplier will not be. not at all difficult as the same exercise would be for Germany.

In addition, Russian LNG cargoes, the only form of Russian gas imported from the UK, arriving in the country have further declined since the beginning of this year, reinforcing Downing Street's belief that the UK can get rid of Russian gas. almost without problems.

This puts the UK in a comfortable enough signaling position from which it can urge its EU allies to reduce their dependence on Russian gas. These allies, however, will have a hard time following in the UK's footsteps, as Germany is Europe's most notoriously gas-dependent economy.

The EU has been discussing energy embargoes against Russia for weeks and has so far only managed to agree on a coal import ban, which will come into effect from August. This will allow utilities to stock up on fossil fuels in the meantime.

There is also a gas embargo on the table, but several EU members have expressed strong opposition to the idea. In Germany, businesses and trade unions have joined forces to advise against such an embargo, noting that it would devastate the energy-intensive German economy. An oil embargo is an equally difficult sale for Germany.

Europe as a whole imports about 40 percent of the gas it consumes from Russia. Last year it was about 155 billion cubic meters. This year, due to the war in Ukraine, the EU said it will aim to reduce Russian gas intake by two-thirds by the end of the year, using a range of measures, including a switch to LNG, energy savings, an increase in renewable energies and an increase in the use of coal for energy production.

Meanwhile, however, gas prices rose again this week after Gazprom cut off gas deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged European energy traders not to pay for Russian gas in rubles. Germany's Uniper, however, said they had no problems doing so. Hungary and Austria also said they would pay for Russian gas in rubles.

The asynchrony between Brussels and the business world has once again highlighted the drawbacks of energy dependence and the importance of local supply. The UK's relative ease in reducing Russian oil imports also speaks to the latter.

This does not mean that the UK is without problems and that it is an example for the EU to follow. Last month, the energy industry association Offshore Energies UK warned that the country's gas producers were struggling to increase production, which could threaten security of supply. This, the association said, could cause the UK to become dependent on imports for up to 70-80% of its consumption in the future.

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The article Can We Eliminate Addiction to Russian Gas? AAHAHAAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH, of course, of course not. comes from ScenariEconomici.it .

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This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/possiamo-eliminare-la-dipendenza-da-gas-russo-aahahaahhaahahahahahahaah-ma-certo-come-no/ on Fri, 29 Apr 2022 17:00:38 +0000.