While expectations of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine are fading, General Director of French energy giant Totalenergies, Mr. Patrick Pouyanne, suddenly made a frank assessment: Europe will still need Russian gas if it wants to maintain an industrial competitive advantage, and possibly part of the Nord Stream pipeline system will soon be put back into operation.
Reuters reported that speaking at a recent energy event in Berlin (Germany), the CEO of the French energy giant said that Europe's efforts to diversify gas supplies were necessary, but also warned against falling into a "new category" - this time with US LNG liquefied natural gas.
I would not be surprised if two of the four branches of the Nord Stream gas pipeline were restarted not all four, Pouyanne said. There is no way to compete on the price with Russian gas if it is replaced with LNG from anywhere, he noted.
After decades as an energy lifeline between Russia and Germany, three of the four branches of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines were sabotaged in 2022 after mysterious explosions. One remaining branch of Nord Stream 2 remains intact, but the pipeline itself has never been put into operation.
However, the survival of the European industry - especially in Germany - depends heavily on cheap energy and that could be the pull back Russian gas once again.
It will be interesting to see if we can resist the attraction of cheap gas from Russia. I think Central Europe will not be able to completely withstand Russian gas, Pouyanne said.
Totalenergies CEO stressed that Europe is increasingly dependent on LNG from the US amid Russian gas cuts. But he said this could be a repeat trap if not carefully considered.
The diversification strategy is the right one, but Europe should be cautious not to fall into a new dependence - this time with the US, Mr. Pouyanne emphasized.
In the context of the endless Ukrainian war, the question is: Will Europe continue to maintain a tough political stance, or will it gradually make grades due to economic pressure?
Choosing between cheap gas and geopolitical principles has never been easy, especially when key industries and millions of jobs are dependent on competitive input energy.
