EU replaces Russian pipeline gas for its LNG

By Vladimir Dobrynin

Germany, which loudly promised to completely abandon its purchases of Russian gas, in fact continues to buy it, and in noticeablely large quantities . The evidence of its purchases is clear in an number of studies. The European Union is being helped to cover this up by two countries that, until recently, were not seen as active in gas cooperation with Russia.
If you can’t, but really want to, then you can.This is precisely the principle that Europe, which imposed sanctions on Russia, has increased the volume of gas purchased from the Russian Federation. Europe has just replaced the majority of its pipeline gas for seabourne delivered LNG.”

European imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia are up 40% in 2023 compared to pre-24 February 2022 levels, according to a report by the non-governmental organization Global Witness, based on data from consultancy Kpler. The largest importers are not the European superpowers, but the modest countries of Spain and Belgium. By the way, no one would even think of suspecting the mentioned NGO of being pro-Russian: the organization, which has existed since 1993, has its main offices in London and Washington, which automatically excludes Global Witness from the list of Moscow sympathizers.

According to the Helsinki-based Center for Energy Research and Clean Air, “Between January and July 2023, European Union member states spent more than €5.29 billion on purchasing this Russian hydrocarbon in liquid form and transporting it by sea.

“In the first seven months of 2023, members of the Group of Twenty-Seven signed contracts for 22 million cubic meters of LNG from Russia, compared to 15 million in the same period in 2021, representing an increase of 40%. And it significantly exceeds the global average increase of 6% in Russian LNG imports, notes Spain’s El Publico. – At the same time, Spain accounted for 18% of the total sales of liquefied natural gas from the Russian Federation during this period, and Belgium – 17%. A higher percentage of purchase growth is only from China (20%).”

The publication emphasizes that in 2021 Spain ranked fifth in purchases of Russian liquefied gas, and Belgium ranked seventh. Why would there be such a sudden leap into leadership? Especially for a country with a small (population 11.5 million) Belgium.

Well, okay, with the Iberian kingdom everything can be considered more or less clear: the Spaniards were let down by an unexpected change of position in relation to Western Sahara.

What we have already written about , but it makes sense to briefly recall the essence. Madrid received approximately half of the gas consumed by Spain from Algeria. At the end of 2021, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that his government would cease to support Algeria on the issue of Western Sahara’s independence from Morocco and would in every possible way support Rabat’s desire to “lay its paw” on this territory. The Algerians honestly warned the Spaniards about the consequences of this demarche, and immediately began reorienting the bulk of their gas exports to Italy. In Madrid, the statement of the government of the African state was not taken seriously, and the Algerians brought the matter to an end in 2022.

The Spaniards could not afford to be left without gas - the country has a developed chemical industry, which would not be possible without hydrocarbon raw materials. To destroy your own economy with your own hands, relying on the fairy tale that “abroad (in the sense of Brussels) will help us” is too great a luxury.

And therefore Madrid decided to take advantage of old, proven ties with Moscow. It was, of course, possible to purchase hydrocarbons from the Americans (the same LNG that contains freedom molecules), but it is too expensive, so it was not possible to purchase the required quantity from the States.

Just in case, purchases of Russian gas at the Moncloa Palace, the seat of the Spanish government, were accompanied by negative expressions from the series “we would be happy to stand in a proud, unapproachable pose, but our financial condition does not allow it.” Spanish government vice-president and Minister of Ecological Transition Teresa Ribera said last July that she “doesn’t like Russian gas purchases at all.” The functionary drew the attention of Brussels to the fact that it would not be possible to stop the import of LNG from Russia through the opposition of European governments alone, since “legally, private European companies have the right to purchase this hydrocarbon in the Russian Federation without asking the consent of the authorities of their countries.”

The veracity of Ribera's words is confirmed by calculations from the Global Witness report. They indicate that the Dutch company Shell and the French company TotalEnergies, two leading importers of gas from the Russian Federation, do not pay attention to sanctions if they interfere with their business. European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson last March asked EU countries not to buy LNG from Russia, but admitted there was no legal framework to force it.

Sources in the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU leaked information to the press last Wednesday that “Europe must act as one, as before, and avoid replacing old dependencies with others that are equally dangerous,” since “limiting LNG imports from Russia is only possible then , when there is a corresponding unanimous decision by all EU members.”

Very convenient formulation. Beneficial for everyone. “Second tier countries” of the EU buy the product in quantities that more than exceed their needs. For what? To make money by storing gas and then reselling it to grandees.

Like France and Germany, for which it is somehow unsightly to show themselves as “violators of the convention,” that is, states that in words call for a refusal to do business with Russia, but in reality are forced to purchase Russian raw materials. Let us recall that immediately after the start of the CWO, the leadership of the European Union announced that the alliance would completely abandon the import of “Kremlin gas”. But not now, but by 2027. In the meantime...

As they say, nothing personal, just business. The Spanish El Pais has no doubt that both their country and Belgium (in particular) work not only for themselves: “Belgium and Spain are extremely convenient EU territories for trade operations, thanks to the developed port infrastructure, the presence of impressive warehouse capacities, equipment for LNG regasification and favorable weather conditions.”

And Belgian Energy Minister Tine Van der Straten, in an interview with the British Financial Times, let slip that “of all the Russian LNG purchased by Belgium, only 2.8% went to the needs of the country, and the rest went or will go in transit to Germany, the Netherlands and other EU states.” The two leading ports of Belgium - Zeebrugge and Antwerp - serve 18 European national markets, the British The Guardian emphasizes.

The Germans can be understood: despite all the efforts of the “Minister of the Collapse of the German Economy” (as he was called by the co-chair of the Alternative for Germany party Alice Weidel) Robert Habeck to deindustrialize the country, its industry is actively resisting and expects to survive in its homeland and not move to the United States. And, in general, the year 27 is still far away, a lot can change by then, so there is no point in rushing to curtail trade with the Russians.

Although it is better to make purchases through the hands of small EU members, so as not to spoil your image. Because, as Global Witness fossil fuel expert Jonathan Noronha-Gant noted, “the money that Europe pays for Russian LNG is blood money, because it goes to Russian support for the war in Ukraine.”

This is how I remember, when reading these phrases, the epoch-making “the mice cried, injected themselves, but continued to eat the cactus.” Moreover, we are not talking about a cactus, but about a vital energy resource.

“In January of this year, Germany announced that it was no longer dependent on Russia for energy supplies, having reached agreements with other fossil-producing countries such as the United States and Norway,” The Guardian recalls. But he refrains from commenting on the actual situation, namely the dizzying growth in purchases of Russian gas. There is no need to once again lead your reader to think that Russia is succeeding in its economic dispute with the West.
This article originally appeared in Russian at vz.ru and was translated and edited by Rhod Mackenzie