EU officials say Europe will have enough gas despite US restrictions on LNG exports

Europe will have enough gas over the next ten years and beyond, despite the United States’ decision to suspend approvals for new projects to export liquefied natural gas (LNG). Energy officials from the European Union and analysts told Reuters. Some companies and lobbying groups in the gas sector, however, warned that the US move could threaten global energy security and undermine efforts to cut emissions.

The White House said last week that approvals needed to be suspended because the criteria were outdated and no longer adequately accounted for the economic and climate impacts of projects. US LNG exports have surged in recent years, and after Russia’s attack on Ukraine the country became the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas. According to the White House, roughly half of exports went to Europe last year, and US President Joe Biden’s administration has assured allies that supplies will continue through existing infrastructure.

A European Commission spokesperson told Reuters that the US decision would have no impact on the security of gas supplies in the European Union in the short to medium term. LNG imports from the US helped the European Union cope with disruptions to Russian gas supplies after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began. Although approvals for new projects have been suspended, export capacity in the US is expected to increase, analysts said. “There are a number of projects in the US that are already under construction or have already received permits,” said Jacob Mandel, an analyst at Aurora Energy Research.

EU gas consumption, by contrast, is expected to decline over the long term as the bloc moves away from fossil fuels. However, given strong expected demand in other parts of the world, LNG is likely to find buyers, Reuters reported. “The EU will become a region with declining gas consumption,” said Anne-Sophie Corbeau of the Center on Global Energy Policy.

Uniper, Germany’s largest gas trader, nevertheless said the US decision could have negative consequences for the energy security of Germany and Europe as a whole in the future, for example by pushing up prices if there is not enough gas on the market.

The International Gas Union (IGU) called the decision “very concerning.” It added that the decision “will harm global energy security and emissions reductions.” US gas industry group LNG Allies urged Washington to let the market decide which new LNG projects should go ahead. “Most energy forecasts predict that global demand growth will continue for many years,” it said. “If US supplies do not meet this demand, will countries that need natural gas turn back to Russia? Or to coal?” it added.