In the latest round of saber-rattling between Russian natural gas suppliers and their American counterparts, Vladimir Chizhov, Moscow’s envoy to the European Union, said on August 18, 2017, that the United States could not replace Russian natural gas supplies to Europe, even if suppliers gave it away for free.
«[The] policy of imposing US LNG contradicts objective market laws,» the diplomat stressed. The problem relates to U.S. gas production capacity, according to the Russian official, who spoke on the topic during a radio interview.
«Even if Americans supplied liquefied gas to Europe free of charge, they simply would not have had enough capabilities to replace the Russian supplies,» Chizhov said.
A shortage of LNG terminals in the U.S., as well as low gas production and tanker count added to the Russian official’s analysis.
«According to current estimates, the price for 1,000 cubic meters of U.S. LNG on the European market will be about $250. This is unprofitable for Europeans, since Russian gas costs about half as much, but it is also unprofitable for American businesses, because the U.S. can sell the same amount of gas in Asia and Latin America for over $300,» Chizhov said.
