RBTH: Europe deprived of Russia's liquefied natural gas
The Russian Ministry of Energy believes, in the event that liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from Russia are freed up, the European market must be closed to independent producers, and their gas should be sold only to the Asia-Pacific region (APR) in addition to Gazprom supplies, said Energy Minister Alexander Novak.
The minister reported that final proposals for the liberalization scheme would be submitted by the Ministry of Energy within a month – but "the final decision will be taken by the president."
The Russian monopoly Gazprom is already facing intense competition on the stagnant, European, gas market from Norway, Qatar, and re-exported LNG from the U.S. (with the looming prospect of real exports of U.S. gas). Against this backdrop, Gazprom continues to build high-capacity, expensive pipelines to Europe. The government is therefore adamant that the opening up of borders to independent producers must not cause additional harm to Gazprom.