Russia said it couldn’t be… U.S. ‘fires up’ when natural gas is weaponized

In response to the Ukraine crisis, the U.S. began to prepare countermeasures when it appeared that Russia might stop supplying natural gas to Europe. According to a Russian company, European natural gas inventories are at an all-time low.

“In preparation for the weaponization of natural gas and crude oil in Russia… We are looking for alternative sources of income.”

The New York Times (NYT) on the 25th (local time), citing a high-ranking US government official, said, “The US government has started preparing energy supply measures in case Russia stops supplying gas to Europe during the conflict in Ukraine.” reported

According to the newspaper, the official said, “We are discussing with companies in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, and we expect that (liquefied natural gas) will be secured enough to replace a large part of the potential shortage (in Europe).” He added, “We are trying to secure supplies from other places,” adding that exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States or Saudi Arabia could be included.

The British Financial Times (FT) reported on the 22nd that “the United States is in talks with Qatar, the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, in preparation for Russia’s cessation of gas supply to Europe in relation to the invasion of Ukraine.” Qatar is the world’s top LNG exporter along with Russia and the United States. A significant portion of the LNG produced is exported to Korea and Japan.

Europe imports a third of its natural gas and oil consumption from Russia. Europe imported about 128 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia last year. Of this, a third was supplied by gas pipelines through Ukraine.

“Europe’s natural gas inventories are at an all-time low… Increase domestic supply in Russia”

Meanwhile, Gazprom, Russia’s largest energy company and the world’s largest natural gas company, announced on the 24th that “the inventory in Europe’s underground natural gas storage (UGS) is at an all-time low.”

Citing Gazprom, Russian state-run TAS news agency quoted Gazprom as saying, “As of the 22nd, European natural gas inventories stood at 13.3 billion m2, down 26% from the same period last year. Lowest stock.” Gazprom said, “Ukrainian underground storage stocks also recorded the lowest level at 12.1 billion cubic meters as of the 22nd.” This is a 44% decrease compared to the same period last year.

Foreign media pointed out that the decline in natural gas inventories in Ukraine and Europe is because “Russia has shut off some of the gas pipelines supplied to Europe after the Ukraine crisis.” In fact, on December 21, last year, Russia stopped the operation of the ‘Yamal-Europe Pipeline’, an onshore pipeline that supplies natural gas to Germany. At this time, the price of natural gas soared to 180 euros per 1 MWh (about 244,600 won) at one time.

Meanwhile, it was found that Gazprom increased its domestic gas supply. Gazprom said, “Since January of this year, we have increased natural gas production and increased domestic supply.” Natural gas production between January 1 and 15 was 23.1 billion cubic meters, up 2.1 percent from the same period last year, and domestic supply also increased by 600 million cubic meters (3.7 percent), Gazprom said.

The US believes that exporting natural gas and oil as a weapon could be negative for Russia’s economy in the long run. According to data from the Russian Ministry of Finance, Russia’s crude oil and natural gas exports last year amounted to 9.1 trillion rubles (about 13,8411 billion won), 51.3 percent higher than the plan at the beginning of the year. According to Reuters, 36% of Russia’s government budget last year came from oil and natural gas exports.

As a result, a U.S. government official told the New York Times that “if Russia decides to use natural gas or oil supplies as a weapon, it will ultimately have negative consequences for the Russian economy.”