US talks to EU energy firms on contingency gas supply in case of Russia conflict – EURACTIV.com

The US government has held talks with several international energy companies on contingency plans for supplying natural gas to Europe if conflict between Russia and Ukraine disrupts Russian supplies, two US officials and two industry sources said.

The United States is concerned Russia is preparing for the possibility of a new military assault on the country it invaded in 2014. Russia denies it plans to attack Ukraine.

The European Union depends on Russia for around a third of its gas supplies, and US sanctions over any conflict could disrupt that supply.

Any interruptions to Russia’s gas supply to Europe would exacerbate an energy crisis caused by a shortage of the fuel. Record power prices have driven up consumer energy bills as well as business costs and sparked protests in some countries.

State Department officials approached the companies to ask where additional supplies might come from if they were needed, two industry sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters of Friday (14 January), speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The companies told the US government officials that global gas supplies are tight and that there is little gas available to substitute large volumes from Russia, the industry sources said.

The State Department’s discussions with energy companies were led by senior advisor for energy security Amos Hochstein, a senior US State Department official said, also speaking on condition of anonymity. The State Department did not ask the companies to increase output, the official added.

“We’ve discussed a range of contingencies and we’ve talked about all that we’re doing with our nation state partners and allies,” the source said.