MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. Abandonment of long-term gas contracts after 2049 as suggested by the European Commission may lead to a decline in investments in the sector and a rise in prices, Senior Director of Fitch natural resources and commodities team Dmitry Marinchenko told TASS.

The European Commission suggested earlier today imposing a ban on the extension of long-term natural gas supply contracts after 2049 to simplify the market entry for producers of renewable gases, hydrogen and biogas in particular, and to create preconditions for the gradual removal of fossil gas from the energy mix.

"If the gas demand does not decline significantly, abandonment of long-term contracts can lead to a superfluous decline of the investment activity level in the sector and price growth," Marinchenko noted.

At the same time, the rejection of long-term contracts does not mean an automatic drop in exports from Russia and other countries but means that producers, including Russia, will shoulder greater risk in respect of supply volumes, rather than consumers, the expert said. It is not yet known how the energy transition will influence gas consumption in Europe.

"If the proposal is approved, it coupled with other initiatives will pave the way for gradual abandonment of natural gas in Europe," the expert added.

.