World bank: There will be alternatives to Russian gas in 5 years

Washington, March 2 - Neftegaz.RU. There will be alternatives to Russian natural gas supply in the 5-year horizon, World Bank President David Malpass told CBS in an interview aired on Sunday.
Malpass said on the on Face the Nation program:

• Markets look forward so they can look at the 5-year time horizon and realize that there's a lot of energy available if it's mobilized, there are alternatives to the Russian dominance of the gas market, for example
• And so whether those changes are made will be important

In the short term, replacing Russian gas is nearly impossible, say analysts and one of the world's largest LNG exporters, Qatar.

Yet, with the Russian invasion, and even before that, the high dependence of Europe on Russian pipeline gas was a source of concern in Europe, and countries were looking to buy more LNG to secure this winter's supply in light of decade-low gas volumes in storage and Russian pipeline deliveries not going above the contractual obligations.
The World Bank's Malpass told CBS:

• Right in the short run, there is upward pressure, including on LNG that the U.S. ships to Europe and Europe will need a lot more, but it's available

Just before Putin launched an attack on Ukraine last week, Qatar said it could divert only 10-15 % of its LNG cargo contracts to other destinations right now.
Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said 2 days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine:

• Replacing Russian gas deliveries to Europe in the short term is almost impossible
• Most of the LNG are tied to long-term contracts and destinations that are very clear
• So, to replace that sum of volume that quickly is almost impossible

While the EU and the U.S. are trying to avoid hitting Europe's energy supply and raising American gasoline prices even higher with sanctions, Germany, for example, made a major U-turn in its energy policy on Sunday.

Germany will support the construction of 2 LNG import terminals and is not leaving any energy source – not even coal or nuclear – off the table as it will now look to cut energy dependence on one supplier.

Author: Tsvetana Paraskova