ABU DHABI, November 7. /TASS/. Restrictions on oil and natural gas supplies from Russia have hit the economies of countries that initiated sanctions against the Russian energy sector, Chair of the World Energy Council Adnan Amin said in an interview with TASS.
"Initially the sanctions on [Russian] energy supplies hit the very countries that imposed them. The first impact was felt in Europe as the restrictions on Russian gas and the shift to alternative, much more expensive sources created economic difficulties across the European landscape," he said on the sidelines of the ADIPEC conference in Abu Dhabi.
Amid the mounting pressure, Russia is expanding energy cooperation with China, including the construction of a new gas pipeline and other joint projects, Amin said, adding that those initiatives "offer alternative avenues," with "a global energy market realigning geopolitically in new ways."
"As for the impact on Russia, I think that during the early phase, with the first round of sanctions, alternative supply routes were found, and I don’t believe that had a major effect on the Russian oil market. However, the new round of sanctions appears to be tightening, and it remains to be seen how that will play out," he said commenting on the US decision to impose sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil.
European countries may resume Russian gas supplies in the future, the World Energy Council chief added. "It all depends on how the current political issues are resolved. I think that if we are able to overcome today’s political divide and find a peaceful settlement to these problems, then, of course, Russian gas could once again become part of Europe’s energy mix. But right now, it’s difficult to see what that pathway might look like," he said.
European countries are consistently committed to developing renewable energy, according to Amin. That said, the implementation of new technologies that ensure efficiency and the integration of renewable sources into the European energy system, will hardly fully meet growing energy consumption.
"What we’re seeing in Europe, very clearly, is an increasing trend toward renewables, electrification, and new clean technologies, ones that are efficient and allow for more effective integration of renewables into the grid. These are becoming more and more prominent, but they will never make up 100% of the energy mix. Europe will continue to require hydrocarbon imports. The continent doesn’t produce enough itself, and its natural partner in the past has always been Russia, which provided energy through geographic proximity and at lower cost," he explained.