EU has ‘obvious solution’ to solve energy crisis – Gazprom

The launch of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline could ease the energy crisis in Europe, Gazprom Deputy Chairman Oleg Aksyutin said at a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum (SPIGF 2022) on Thursday.

“The launch of Nord Stream 2 could solve the problem of balancing the gas market in Europe, but we see that this obvious solution is resisted by European politicians,” Aksyutin pointed out.

“There is simply no appropriate alternative to the supply of Russian pipeline gas for Europe. No country is capable of providing resources comparable to the resources and fields of Siberia and the Yamal Peninsula. No one can increase supply using pipeline systems on the terms offered by Gazprom,” he stated.

Aksyutin said that Brussels’ stance on Russian gas and the measures the EU is taking to lower dependence on it dooms the European economy to inefficiency and a loss of competitiveness.

He also criticized the bloc’s aspirations to replace Russian pipeline gas with liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from across the ocean, stressing that LNG “does not appear on the market by magic” and that it is unlikely the supply of LNG to the global market will increase notably in the next two years.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was completed last year but never went into operation due to Berlin’s reluctance to grant it certification, has an annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters. It could help the bloc greatly, experts say, especially now, when another Russian pipeline, Nord Stream 1, has been shut down indefinitely due to technical problems. The only remaining major routes for Russian gas to reach Europe is the one still-operational transit line through Ukraine and the Turkstream pipeline through Turkey.

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