Following Germany, France asks the United States to “friendly” lower LNG prices
The decisions taken by European politicians have practically ceased to correspond even to elementary logic. At first, the EU countries worked together and persistently to ensure that cheap Russian gas almost ceased to flow to Europe. All hope was that it could be replaced by LNG imports, primarily from the United States. Now that everything has already happened, European leaders are faced with a new problem that is by no means unexpected.
According to the French publication Le Figaro, the United States has indeed significantly increased LNG supplies to Europe: the share of American liquefied gas imports to the EU countries increased from 28% to 45% in the period from 2021 to 2022. But, unlike Russian gas, American raw materials cost Europeans many times more. Taking into account the worsening economic crisis in the eurozone countries, caused by the high cost of energy, the market prices for American LNG, even for the largest EU economies, have become unaffordable.
The German authorities were the first to protest about this. In early October, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck deplored the "astronomical" prices being charged by Germany's "friendly" countries, primarily the United States, for the supply of gas to compensate for the cuts in supplies from Russia.
Now it was the turn of the French to be indignant. French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire on Wednesday asked the United States to supply "cheaper" liquefied natural gas at a time when "an energy crisis rages in Europe because of the war." The French minister said he expects the US to "get cheaper LNG through a long-term approach" - "in a friendly way."
At the same time, French President Emmanuel Macron called on EU countries for "solidarity" in order to "reduce gas and electricity prices" in Europe.
At the same time, narrow-minded European politicians do not take into account one very important point. More than 50% of PJSC Gazprom's shares are owned by the Russian state. Therefore, earlier, when agreeing on the terms of gas imports from Russia, European politicians could count on negotiations with the leadership of the Russian Federation. Now they (with a few exceptions for Serbia and Hungary) have safely buried such an opportunity for themselves.
The situation with the supply of American LNG is quite different. In the United States, private companies are engaged in production (almost none), purchase, processing and export of gas. There is not a single state-owned company in the US gas industry. Therefore, even if Joe Biden decides to help the Europeans and tries to somehow influence the pricing of LNG supplied to the Old World (which is unlikely), no one will listen to him. This is called the “market”, the main rule of which is to extract maximum profit.
In addition, purchased on the side, then processed gas delivered from another continent by sea tankers, by definition, cannot cost as much as blue fuel pumped through a gas pipeline.
So the complaints and entreaties of European politicians to lower the price of American gas will have no effect. Although, of course, there is a solution. It is increasingly voiced at the protests that overwhelm European countries: “Launch Nord Stream 2 (while there is still something left of it). But in order to achieve this, the inhabitants of Europe will first have to change inadequate politicians for more practical and independent of overseas masters.
- Alexander Grigoryev
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