According to Gazprom, the majority state-owned Russian gas giant, some European companies have already found ways to continue buying gas from Russia, while meeting its payment requirements and avoiding violate sanctions imposed on the country after its invasion of Ukraine.
Dr. Dimitrios-Vassilios Kokkinos, president of DVK Consultants based in the United Arab Emirates, told Media Line that some companies have indeed found ways to do this. “They will cover it by paying euros to Gazprombank which the bank will convert into rubles,” he said. It is noted that Gazprombank is its subsidiary Gazprom.
Vassilis Kopsacheilis, a political consultant specializing in geopolitical risk, stressed in an interview with Media Line that several European companies have contracts with Gazprom and are willing to to pay in rubles, as required by Russia. In addition, four European buyers of gas have already paid for supplies in rubles, according to Bloomberg, citing a source from Gazprom.
Kopsacheilis added, however, that Many European countries are reluctant to comply with Moscow’s requirements on payment for gas and oil. For this reason, many European countries, gas and oil buyers and organizations have turned their attention to the Middle East as a possible alternative. He noted that there are some countries in the region that could supply a limited amount of energy to Europe and others could do so on a larger scale, but there are still some issues that need to be resolved for this to happen.
“For limited quantities, Israel and Egypt, and even Iraq – the Kurdish region of Iraq – could be alternative suppliers. For larger quantities, Algeria, Qatar and to a lesser extent Saudi Arabia. “Iran could also be a good alternative,” he said.
Red also said North Africa would increase them gas exports to Europe. However, this will only fill a small part of the gap. As for Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf countries, Kokkinos explained that they have long-term contracts to supply mainly China. It is difficult for them to reduce exports to Asia and divert them to Europe because of China’s growing importance in the Middle East.
“She [η προμήθεια στην Κίνα] is important to them [τις χώρες του Κόλπου] “Now that the United States has withdrawn from the Middle East, only China can protect them from Iran.” Therefore, he added, “gas to Europe may increase slightly.”
Kopsacheilis added that Asia pays relatively high prices for liquefied natural gas. “If shipments were to be redirected from Asia to Europe, that would mean higher prices for European buyers, which means more expensive gas for European consumers compared to current prices from Russia.”write down.
He also said that Iran could also be a good alternative. However, he explained that the Iranian nuclear deal must first be restored in order for sanctions to be lifted, and only then could Iran export its gas and possibly supply Europe. Qatar shares with Iran the largest gas field in the world, the South Pars, which they always draw together because otherwise they would have technical problems. However, he said that in theory, the Iranian side can not export gas due to sanctions, Kokkinos noted.
As for the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean, he added that if new gas sources are found in the area, it could be considered as a more appropriate alternative. However, he added that it would take several years to do so. Kokkinos concluded that Europe is likely to fall short of its gas needs due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions imposed by the EU and the US and Russian conditions for energy supply in response.
The only viable solution is Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states to increase production for the benefit of Europe, “is unlikely,” he said.
Jerusalem Post
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