EU may resume Russian gas imports – Reuters

Leaders of major European Union companies have begun discussing the potential return of limited Russian gas imports, including from state-owned energy giant Gazprom.

Source: Reuters

Details: Following Donald Trump’s election as US President, energy has reportedly become a bargaining chip in trade talks, prompting concerns within the business community that reliance on the US has created another point of vulnerability.

Meanwhile, talks with Qatar on increasing gas supplies have stalled, and although the rollout of renewable energy has accelerated, the pace is still insufficient to make the EU feel secure.

Against this backdrop, some European firms are openly discussing the possibility of resuming limited imports of Russian gas.

"If there is a reasonable peace in Ukraine, we could go back to flows of 60 billion cubic metres, maybe 70, annually, including LNG," said Didier Holleaux, Executive Vice President of French energy company Engie, in an interview with Reuters.

Holleaux stated that Russia could supply around 20-25% of the EU’s demand, compared to 40% before the war.

"Europe will never go back to importing 150 billion cubic meters from Russia like before the war ... but I would bet maybe 70 bcm," added another French businessman, Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of TotalEnergies.

A survey by the Forsa institute found that 49% of Germans in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the German state where the Nord Stream pipeline makes landfall from Russia through the Baltic Sea, want to resume Russian gas supplies.

"We need Russian gas, we need cheap energy – no matter where it comes from. We need Nord Stream 2," said Klaus Paur, managing director of Leuna-Harze, a mid-sized petrochemical company.

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