Europe now has no alternative to Russian gas, the need to engage in dialogue with Moscow to maintain supplies. This was stated by TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne on RTL radio.

“This winter we had no problems, we took certain actions. But if everything went according to the worst-case scenario and the Russians abruptly cut off gas supplies in April-May, then the winter of 2022 would be much more difficult, ”the head of the TASS company quotes.

According to him, now Russian gas could be replaced by liquefied gas supplies by sea, but Europe is not yet able to cover its needs in this way, including due to a lack of terminals for receiving fuel, and the construction of such an infrastructure will take about two years.

“The lesson for Europe is that it is a gas importer and needs to increase the number of sources of purchase, increase the capacity to store gas and receive LNG supplies,” Pouyanne said.

He also added that the increase in gas prices in December last year was due to strong demand in China. The head of TotalEnergies expressed hope that the cost of gas will decrease, however, in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, not only gas, but also oil will rise in price.

Earlier, Russia's Permanent Representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov said that the increase in Russian gas supplies to Europe depends on the availability of demand.

Prior to this, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that the European Union does not believe that Russia can completely cut off gas supplies. According to him, Europe does not rule out a reduction in fuel supplies from Russia, so the EU is negotiating with partners who can provide additional supplies, primarily with the United States and Qatar.

bbabo.Net