Belgium is importing record amounts of liquefied natural gas from the US, Belgian media reported. Data show that in the last year alone, the increase in volumes has quadrupled - from 14.1 terawatt hours in 2024 to 55.5 terawatt hours last year, BTA reported.
It is noted that this change coincides with the European Commission's policy to diversify supply sources and gradually end the import of Russian fossil fuels. In the last six months, of the total volume of liquefied natural gas imported into Belgium, 49 percent came from the US, 37 percent from Russia and 8 percent from Qatar.
According to quoted experts from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, there is a danger that Belgium will replace one import dependency with another. In their opinion, if "all the trade agreements between the EU and the US concluded recently" were implemented, the share of liquefied gas supplies from the US to Europe would reach 80 percent by 2030.
Bulgaria's Acting Minister of Energy Traycho Traykov said yesterday that Bulgaria could play a leading role in the supply of US liquefied gas to Ukraine and the region.
Bulgaria has a real opportunity to become a leading regional gas distribution and transit center, connecting the markets of Southeastern, Eastern and Central Europe. This became known from the participation of the acting Minister of Energy Traycho Traykov in the Transatlantic Summit on Security of Gas Supplies, which is being held in Washington on February 24 and 25, the Ministry of Energy (MOE) announced.
During the forum, the energy ministers of 12 European countries and the United States signed a Joint Statement on Increasing the Security of Natural Gas Supplies for Central and Eastern Europe. Among the signatories to the statement are Bulgaria, Greece, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine and the United States - countries that are seeking more secure, more predictable and more independent energy solutions for the region.
The document places a clear emphasis on natural gas supplies from reliable and diverse sources, more competitive and more predictable prices for the raw material, the elimination of Russian supplies from the Community's energy balance, in accordance with European policies and legislation, as well as a closer energy partnership between Europe and the United States. The goal of the participating countries is to gradually reduce dependence on a single supplier and build a more flexible and sustainable gas market, the Ministry of Energy said.