Moscow, 04/15 (Prensa Latina) Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Nóvak said today it is unlikely that the European Union (EU) will completely distance itself from oil and gas in the country for the next five to 10 years.
Without energy resources from this country, it would be impossible to ensure Europe’s energy security, the natural resources minister assured in an article published by Energy Policy magazine.
“The resolution of the European Parliament on the embargo on imports of Russian energy resources underlines that this decision must be accompanied by an action plan that will guarantee the security of energy supply to the EU,” he said.
However, the senior official stressed that the main players in the sector agree that it is unlikely that they will be able to completely replace these Russian fuels in this period of almost a decade.
He stressed that the weight of oil shipments from the Eurasian country accounts for 30 percent of the total purchases of this commodity by the common bloc, gas purchases account for 40 percent, and coal shipments account for about a third of all imports.
The EU hopes that alongside the United States, Qatar, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will become its alternative energy sources.
However, Nóvak pointed out that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had already warned that its members could not compensate the world market for the drop in Russian supplies.
In his opinion, there is hardly any reasonable alternative to energy raw materials from Russia given its weight in this market, which shows that without its raw material it is impossible to ensure Europe’s energy security.
“Therefore, the fate of European industry and the comfort of EU citizens now depend entirely on how reasonable the decisions of the community leaders will be,” he stressed.
The deputy prime minister predicted that global energy prices could reach record highs if supplies from that country were restricted.
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