US politicians and companies are contributing to increased uncertainty and instability in the global gas market through their actions and comments, Kirill Polous, deputy head of department and head of Gazprom's division, said on the sidelines of COP29 in Baku.
In his presentation, he showed the US influence on the global gas market as a multi-level pyramid, Report informs referring to Interfax.
In his slide, the speaker called Europe "the most receptive region" to US energy influence: "Largely due to regulators' actions, there is a significant increase in Old World's dependence on the United States, which has recently substantially increased its presence in the European gas market. Several European companies have already suffered after signing LNG supply contracts. Some of these contracts are not being fulfilled, gas is not being delivered, and the volume under these contracts is estimated at tens of billions of dollars. As a result of various regulatory restrictions (until 2050), natural gas demand in Europe is expected to further decrease significantly, by almost a third from current levels, despite considerable reductions in previous periods."
He noted that regarding long-term prospects of the global LNG market, "the US leadership's decision to temporarily suspend export licensing came as an unpleasant surprise for many, which became a limiting factor for making final investment decisions on several US LNG projects, for which even preliminary supply agreements had been signed."
Gazprom's strategist noted that gas consumption restrictions in Europe are largely related to the implementation of the REPowerEU program.