Simson: “No risk from the Middle East crisis to LNG supplies”

Brussels –Tensions and crises in the Middle East are not a risk factor for liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies and deliveries. No problem for the European Union, assures Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, who rules out new energy shocks in the wake of the conflict between Hamas and Israel. The active policy of the Commission made this outcome possible, negotiating on several fronts and making the Israeli energy product a minimal and marginal share of overall purchases.

Israeli LNG comes to the EU via Egypt. Numbers provided by Simson in her response to a parliamentary question indicate that until the end of November 2023, the EU imported 1.3 billion cubic meters of LNG from Egypt. These seem like huge quantities, but they are not compared to the 79.7 billion cubic meters from Norway (including 4.1 billion cubic meters of LNG and 75.6 billion cubic meters via pipelines), and guaranteed for the next four years and to the “more than 50 billion cubic meters of LNG from the United States, which is the EU’s main source of liquefied natural gas.”

Yes, she admits, following Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, “Israel briefly suspended production from the Tamar field (production of 10 billion cubic meters in 2022) and exports to Egypt.” However, the Jewish state “resumed rapidly without affecting the EU’s supply,” and Israel’s share of LNG remains minimal. The result is that “the supplies of liquefied natural gas from Israel and Egypt to the EU, at this time, are limited and, therefore, any disruptions from the region will have no impact on the EU‘s security of supply,” she said.

In the face of turmoil in the Middle East, however, there are other useful options for responding to possible new supply disruptions. Simson recalls that new LNG orders could be secured from Algeria, a country with which the Union maintains regular contacts, and Azerbaijan, another non-EU country with which there is a cooperation relationship after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding aimed  at strengthening bilateral relations in several areas, including energy.

But net of a situation that, so far, thanks in part to European trade activism that ensures different and safer options, the commitment of national governments remains. Even before the Middle East conflict, namely since the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine, “the European Union has focused on accelerating the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency,” Simson recalls, offering a new reminder to member states.