Russia last year for the first time overtook the United States in the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe. This is reported by TASS with reference to the words of the head of the Shell concern in Russia Sederik Kremers.
LNG supplies to the European market in 2020 amounted to about 84 million tons, of which 22 million tons were in Russia and 20 million tons in the United States. It follows from Kramers’ presentation that by 2040 the demand for LNG in Europe will grow, while the share of pipeline gas will decline. This will mainly happen due to the drop in supplies from Norway and North Africa. Also, according to forecasts, domestic gas production in Europe will fall significantly.
In February 2021, most of the gas wells in the United States were suspended due to severe frosts, which brought down the production and export of fuel. At some enterprises, supplies of raw gas fell to a four-month low (up to 210 million cubic meters per day). This is 2-4 times less than usual. The country has practically stopped exporting gas.
The production of American oil has also decreased – by a third on average. For example, in the Permian Basin (the center of the US shale industry), it collapsed by 65 percent.