EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said Europe still depends on Russian gas. We are clearly still dependent on Russian gas, he told Table.Media in an interview.
According to Mr. Jorgensen, "this is unacceptable for political, ethical and security reasons".
The EU Energy Commissioner also said it would soon present a step-by-step roadmap for Europe to abandon Russian gas.
However, Mr. Jorgensen emphasized that Europe also depends on the US for liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply.
We need to acknowledge that we are currently dependent on the United States for LNG supply.
Meanwhile, he expressed confidence that "there is still an opportunity to import more US gas".
In May 2022, the European Union (EU) launched the RE PowerEU program to end Europe's dependence on Russian gas by 2027.
According to data from the European Gas Infrastructure (GIE), the amount of gas pumped into Europe's underground gas storage facilities (UGS) in April reached the highest level for this month in the past 3 years and 15% higher than last year. In addition, LNG was also imported by Europe with a record level in April.
According to GIE, the amount of gas pumped into UGS facilities in EU countries reached 325 million m3 on April 26. The volume of exhausted gas has decreased to 18 million m3. In April, gas outflows fell 22% from the previous year, while pumping increased 4%. Total gas stored in UGS facilities reached 42 billion m3, 38% lower than the same period last year.
Currently, UGS facilities in Europe are storing at 38.41% of capacity, 10.37% lower than the average of the past 5 years up to this point. At this time last year, facilities were storing at 61.7%.
The European Commission requires EU countries to ensure that UGS facilities must achieve 90% of their reserves before November 1st of each year to maintain high reserves for the winter, in preparation for supply disruptions or unusually cold weather.
The share of wind power production in the EU's total electricity output will average 17% in March and around 15% in April. The average gas purchase price in Europe in March was around 467 USD/1,000 m3 and around 415 USD in April.
LNG imports in April surpassed March's record (12.7 billion m3). LNG re-ga setting facilities are operating at 56% capacity.
