Politics & Regulation

The EU on Wednesday, May 18 announced plans to invest EUR 2 billion to end its long-term Russia crude oil import dependence through the Druzhba pipeline. This latest move is part of the bloc's plan to reduce its reliance on Moscow's energy following the Russian ongoing invasion of Ukraine since February 24, 2022.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to more than imaginable changes in Europe's security architecture and a new normal as the EU member states strive for alternatives to Russian energy. Following the invasion of Ukraine, Madrid has called for the revival of the MidCat gas pipeline planned to connect France and Spain to reduce Europe's energy dependence on Russia.

Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU) will not reopen the Sokhranovka gas transit route from Russia to Europe until Kyiv obtains full control over its pipeline system, the head of GTSOU told Reuters on Thursday.

The war in the Ukraine has reached the 55 year old, 2750-km Bratsva natural gas pipeline, a major transit route for Russian gas to Europe after Moscow's invasion.
 

As a sign of solidarity with European Union states seeking an alternative to the Russian gas, Germany has offered to help eastern states with ports in the North Sea or Baltic Sea to have access to liquefied natural gas through its ports, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday, May 5, 2022, after a meeting with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.

For nearly six years now Nigeria has been trying to interest Europe in a 5,660-km gas pipeline that would transport Nigerian natural gas to Morocco and ultimately to Europe. The intention was to assist Europe in becoming less dependent on Russian gas.

The 580-kilometers Poland-Lithuania Gas Connector (GIPL), which has been under construction since 2020, began operation on Saturday, April 30, 2022.

Terrorists belonging to the Islamic States attacked a section of Egypt’s natural gas pipeline in the northern Sinai region on Sunday, May 1, 2022. According to Egypt’s security officials, the blast sparked up a fire, with no casualties reported in the incident.

Last week Gazprom halted gas exports to Poland and Bulgaria.  Poland is supplied via the 4,107-km Yamal - Europe gas pipeline; Bulgaria through pipes over Turkey.

"We are convinced it's better to produce gas in the North Sea than buying it from Vladimir Putin," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark said yesterday.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi is set to visit Algeria and sign an agreement to step up gas imports in an effort to end country’s dependence on Russian gas, sources close to the deal said.

Germany is taking concrete steps to end its dependency on Russian energy:  Imports of oil and coal from Russia will come to an end during the course of 2022.  Stopping the flow of natural gas to Germany will not happen as quickly, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz assures us it will be "very soon."

The urge for Europe to diversify away from Russian energy supplies amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis has revived talks about the EastMed gas pipeline, which carries gas from Eastern Mediterranean to South-East Europe and Greece.

The European Commission, however, insists on the need for the project to prove its commercial viability before approving it.

Italian Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, announced on Thursday, March 31, 2022, that he had discussed plans to construct a gas pipeline from Italy to Spain with the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, in a bit to help Europe is shifting from Russian gas dependency.

Draghi said that they discussed the idea of the Italy-Spain pipeline both in Rome and at the European Council.

Federal energy regulators on Thursday March 24, 2022 rolled back plans to consider conducting an assessment to determine how natural gas projects affect climate change, citing pushback from lawmakers and the industry leaders.