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Australia has offered additional liquefied natural gas to Europe if Russia decides to cut off energy supplies as tensions over Ukraine escalate.
As tensions escalate between Russia and the West, there is growing concern that Moscow may cut or cut off gas supplies to Europe.
The European Union is already short of gas as easing restrictions on COVID-19 brought huge demand as reserves dwindled. The EU depends on Russia for about a third of its gas supplies and may need alternative sources as fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine escalate.
Australia is one of the world’s leading producers of liquefied natural gas and is poised to increase its exports to European countries. Commerce Minister Dan Tehan said in a statement Thursday that Australia was “ready to support friends and allies in the current challenging and complex, geostrategic environment”.
Tony Wood, director of energy program at the Grattan Institute, an Australian research organization, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. that Australia was in a good position to help. “Australia, the United States and Qatar, taken together, supply about 50% of the world’s liquefied natural gas through transportation, while what Russia offers is undoubtedly through the pipeline,” he said.
“But there is some flexibility. What is happening now is that they are looking to see if they can get supplies from elsewhere. “The United States is trying to coordinate some of them, and some of the Australian gas has already been used to help resolve the problem at the moment, and, of course, the problem could get worse if the situation in Ukraine gets worse.”
Russia’s gas exports to Europe are distributed mainly through pipelines passing through Ukraine or other Eastern European countries. Moscow has insisted the Ukrainian system was broken and has accused its neighbor of stealing gas. Analysts have said Russia could use tensions around Ukraine to promote its plan for a new gas pipeline to Germany that bypasses Poland and Ukraine.
The Australian government has also urged its citizens to leave Ukraine immediately, as Russian troops have gathered at the border and the threat of an invasion is growing. The government has estimated that there are about 1,400 Australians in Ukraine. Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Tuesday that the advice to leave was “a careful and prudent step because the security situation is unpredictable” ./ VOA
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