Europe will continue to need Russian gas supplies to a certain extent if the continent's industries want to maintain competitiveness, the CEO of oil company Totalenergies said on March 26, referring to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea.
The Nord Stream debate has heated up in recent weeks, in hopes of a ceasefire between Moscow and Ukraine. This has prompted some policymakers to reconsider whether Russian gas can eventually return to Europe.
Russia supplied gas to Germany for decades before cutting back and stopping supplies via Nord Stream in 2022.
Three of the four branches of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines were damaged in the explosion in September 2022. Only one branch of Nord Stream 2 remains intact.
"I would not be surprised if two of the four branches of the pipeline returned to operation, not all. There is no way to compete with Russian gas from anywhere," Totalenergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne said at an oil and gas event in Berlin, Germany.
He said that Europe's energy diversification strategy is reasonable, but the continent should "be careful not to fall into a similar situation with the US in the future," meaning Europe is increasingly importing US LNG.
"I think it will be interesting to see if we can resist cheap Russian gas," Pouyanne said, pointing to the importance of cheap energy to the European industry, especially in Germany. "I think Central Europe will not be able to completely resist," he said.
Also related to Nord Stream, on March 26, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak shared with the press that there are still many questions regarding the operational capability of the intact branch of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
"Technically, the pipeline is still operating. However, the bigger problem is the feasibility of gas supply and overall operation. At present, there are still many unresolved issues. As we know, there are no customers and no contracts have been signed. But technically, the pipeline is still operational," Novak said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov previously revealed that Moscow and Washington are discussing the Nord Stream pipeline. He noted that it would be interesting to see whether the US can take advantage of its influence over Europe to prevent the bloc from rejecting Russian gas.
On March 4, German Bild quoted a source as saying that Berlin is considering measures to prevent Nord Stream 2 from being put into operation through agreements between the US and Russia.
Bild said that covert negotiations on the possibility of resuming Russian gas supplies to Germany have been going on in Switzerland for weeks. The focus of discussions between Russia and the US is Nord Stream 2.
