MOSCOW, July 29. /TASS/. The European Union’s goal of fully replacing Russian oil and gas with American liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a complex undertaking, and such a transition will inevitably impact European consumers, experts from the Gaidar Institute told TASS.
Earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that, in order to reduce US tariffs from 30% to 15%, the European Commission had pledged to fully replace Russian oil and gas with American LNG, petroleum products, crude oil, and nuclear fuel worth a total of $750 bln.
"Russia’s role in the European gas market does not appear decisive, but it should not be completely discounted either. Despite the EU’s efforts to reduce its dependence on Russian gas, in 2024 Russia remained a significant supplier to the European market. The main increase in deliveries came from LNG, which underscores the challenges the EU faces in attempting to fully abandon Russian gas in the short term," research fellow at the International Trade Laboratory of the Gaidar Institute Dmitry Kuznetsov said.
According to him, complete replacement is indeed feasible, but it will inevitably affect gas prices for consumers, as the structure of supplies to the EU will move even further away from the optimal.
According to Vladimir Sedalishchev, an expert at the Economic Policy Foundation, gas and oil can be purchased from many countries, so "a withdrawal from supplies from Russia is entirely possible, albeit with a somewhat noticeable markup for consumers."
He pointed out that the situation with nuclear fuel is more complicated - very few countries are capable of producing it and processing its waste. "Moreover, some of the EU’s nuclear power plants were built by Russia or the USSR, and transitioning from Russian nuclear technology to, say, French systems may require significant investment due to differences in technical standards. Therefore, the possibility of fully abandoning Russian nuclear fuel remains questionable compared to hydrocarbons. That said, imports of Russian nuclear fuel currently account for below 1 bln euro," he stated.