Will Europe survive without our gas?

Alexey Belogoryev, Deputy Director on Energy Studies at the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented on the dependence of European countries on Russian gas to Argumenty i Fakty weekly.

“A third of all gas consumed by the EU comes from Russia,” Aleksey Belogoryev notes. - In a number of countries - Estonia, Latvia, Finland - there is only our gas. In Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, its share is more than 50%. Only Spain, Portugal, Norway do without Russian supplies. In general, Europe has no alternative now. There is little free gas on the world market, LNG is expensive, and its moderate shortage is expected until 2025. If we suddenly stop exports, the EU will face a serious shortage of electricity and heat. In winter it will be a disaster. But Russia will never agree to this, because exports to Europe bring Gazprom fabulous profits, this is a gold mine on which our entire gas industry is built.