Europe has nothing to cover a possible gas deficit without Russian supplies, said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. According to him, the reasons are the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the shutdown of liquefied natural gas capacities in Qatar after the attacks in March.
“We are confident that there is nothing to cover the deficit for now, since the Strait of Hormuz is closed, and the plant in Qatar was stopped as a result of the attacks in March“, Novak said in an interview with “Vesti“, given during the Russian Energy Week.
The International Energy Agency reports that the interruption of transport through the strait has reduced supplies of liquefied natural gas from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates by more than 300 million cubic meters per day since March 1. This is equivalent to more than 2 billion cubic meters per week. The agency said the Ras Laffan complex in Qatar, the world's largest liquefaction facility, was out of service after an attack on March 2.
Shell said QatarEnergy had halted production at all of its LNG plants on March 2 and declared force majeure under its contracts. The company said production was also limited by the inability of cargo to pass through the Strait of Hormuz normally.
Warning on prices and stocks
Novak said the European gas market was unbalanced and the ban on Russian liquefied gas would deepen tensions. “European politicians are shooting themselves in the foot if they ban supplies, including from Russia“, he said.
The Russian Deputy Prime Minister claims that stocks in European gas storage facilities are about 10% below the average levels for the same period in previous years. According to him, the consequences of the shortage and the increase in prices will be borne by European consumers.
According to data cited by TASS from a report by the European Network of Gas Transmission System Operators, in a cold winter, limited Russian supplies and a shortage of liquefied gas, stocks in European Union storage facilities could drop to 11% by the end of the heating season. In this scenario, unmet demand could reach around 40 billion cubic meters.
Ban on Russian liquefied gas to be phased in
The European Union has adopted a phased ban on Russian gas imports. For liquefied natural gas, the full ban starts on January 1, 2027, for certain long-term contracts concluded before June 17, 2025. For short-term contracts and some later agreements, the restrictions start to apply earlier.
Novak reported that 12 million tons of Russian liquefied natural gas were delivered to Europe in the first nine months of the year. He said the quantity was higher than for the same period the previous year and suggested that European buyers were looking to increase supplies before the ban came into effect.
Sources: vesti.ru, tass.ru, apnews.com