The energy crisis that has arisen in Europe will last for years if the region does not reduce demand and establish new gas supply channels. This is stated in an article on the website of the newspaper Financial Timespublished November 24th.
According to the publication, this was warned by the leaders of the energy industry and analysts.
“We are in a gas crisis, and will continue to be in this state for the next two or three years,” Sid Bambawale, head of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the Asia region of the world’s largest energy trader Vitol, said in an interview with the publication.
According to him, market participants and governments should not develop a “false sense of security” in this matter.
According to experts, despite the fact that hundreds of billions of euros have already been spent to fill gas storage facilities this winter and support households and businesses, the pressure on the budgets of European states will continue next year.
According to the head of Asian LNG production at the Japanese energy company Jera Global Markets, Kosuke Tanaka, now the gas market has been stabilized against the backdrop of falling demand and switching to other energy sources, in particular coal.
Amid the energy crisis, the European Union (EU) has managed to import record volumes of LNG thanks to China’s support and Beijing’s reduction in gas consumption, according to the Bruegel think tank.
But high levels of storage could lead to complacency and slow down the decline in demand, energy industry officials say. They also warn that Russian gas supplies to the EU will decline again next year, and China will begin to increase its consumption.
Earlier Thursday, political analyst Ruslan Balbeck commented on the statement by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen about the EU’s work on the ninth package of sanctions against Russia. He advised the Europeans to heat the stoves with sanctions packages to keep warm. There are no problems with gas in Russia, he noted.
On November 20, The Wall Street Journal reported that European companies had begun negotiations with LNG producers to buy fuel for the coming years. However, suppliers are in no hurry to sign long-term contracts in which the EU is interested.
On November 3, the International Energy Agency published a report that Europe could face gas shortages by the start of the heating season in 2023-2024.
Western countries have tightened anti-Russian sanctions in response to Moscow’s special operation to protect Donbass, which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24. At the same time, the imposed restrictions hit the Western states themselves, where prices and inflation rose to record highs and the energy crisis worsened.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
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