Europe reducing reliance on Russian energy.
On Friday, the United States and the European Union announced a new partnership to reduce the continent’s reliance on Russian energy. Officials characterized this as the start of a yearlong initiative to further isolate Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine.
President Joe Biden asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin uses energy to “coerce and manipulate his neighbors” and uses the profits from its sale to “drive his war machine.” The partnership will turn that dynamic “on its head” by reducing Europe’s independence on Russian energy sources, as well as reducing the continent’s demand for gas overall.
The president said such a step is not “only the right thing to do from a moral standpoint,” but “it’s going to put us on a stronger strategic footing.”
Under the plan, the U.S. and other nations will increase liquified natural gas exports to Europe by 15 billion cubic meters this year, although U.S. officials were unable to say exactly which countries will provide the extra energy. Even larger shipments would be delivered in the future.
Getting liquified natural gas to Europe could be challenging, even though the U.S. has been dramatically increasing its exports in recent years. Many export facilities are already operating at capacity, and most new terminals are only in the planning stages. Even if the U.S. could ship more gas to Europe, the continent may struggle to receive it. Import terminals are located in coastal areas, where there are fewer pipeline connections for distributing it. Even if all Europe’s facilities were operating at capacity, the amount of gas would likely be only about two-thirds of what Russia delivers through pipelines.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For the president to seek God’s wisdom as he enters into energy agreements with other nations.
- For discernment for U.S. energy officials as they consider domestic production needs.
- For the U.S. energy administrators to be led by God as they advise the president.
- For the international heads of state as they respond to the continuing conflict in Ukraine.
Sources: Reuters, Newsmax, Bloomberg
