Europe likely to increase imports of Russian gas

Europe aims to reduce dependence on Russian gas by 2027. Photo: Xinhua

The European Union finds itself in an energy trap: In the west, the United States is pushing the bloc to import liquefied natural gas (LNG); in the east, Russia is trying to revive the Nord Stream 2 project, German magazine Der Spiegel reported.

Der Spiegel pointed out that when cutting down on Russian gas imports, the European Union can compensate with US liquefied natural gas (LNG).

However, the current US President wants to pressure the world through gas. So Europe is caught in the middle. If the US is no longer the guarantor of gas supplies, the question is where to get the gas.

Russia has ideas on the matter, according to Der Spiegel. Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed that the US and Russia are discussing repairing the Nord Stream pipeline as part of peace talks in Ukraine.

"Brussels is now stuck. If the EU continues to follow its plan to abandon Russian gas by 2027, its dependence on the United States will become increasingly unpredictable. If the European Union moves somewhat closer to Russia, it will depend on two 'unwanted partners' at the same time," the German newspaper pointed out.

According to Der Spiegel, the EU has little time to think. The EU has never officially banned imports of Russian gas via pipeline. If the Nord Stream pipelines are repaired, deliveries can resume at any time.

According to Reuters calculations on March 31, compared to February, the average daily amount of gas supplied by Russia's Gazprom group to Europe via the TurkStream pipeline in March decreased by 19.4%.

At its peak in 2018-2019, Russia exported 175 to 180 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe annually. Photo: Xinhua

The figure is based on data from European gas transmission group Entsog, which said Russian gas exports via the TurkStream pipeline fell to 45.0 million cubic metres per day in March, down from 55.8 million cubic metres per day in February. The figure was also down from 46.4 million cubic metres per day in March 2024.

According to Reuters calculations, the total volume of Russian gas supplied to Europe via TurkStream reached about 4.5 billion cubic meters in the first three months of 2025, lower than the 7.7 billion cubic meters recorded in the same period last year.

Gazprom data and Reuters calculations show that Russia supplied about 63.8 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe via various routes in 2022. This figure will fall sharply by 55.6% to 28.3 billion cubic meters in 2024, but increase to about 32 billion cubic meters in 2024. At its peak in 2018-2019, Russia's annual gas exports to Europe were between 175 and 180 billion cubic meters.

TurkStream is currently the only transit route for Russian gas to Europe after Ukraine decided not to renew a five-year transit agreement with Russia when it expires at the end of 2024.

Source: https://laodong.vn/the-gioi/kha-nang-chau-au-tang-nhap-khau-khi-dot-nga-1485329.ldo