/ world today news/ Equinor, the largest oil and gas company in Northern Europe, is already producing gas in the maximum possible volumes and will not be able to increase its supply to Europe, said Anders Opedal, CEO of the oil and gas giant, in Bloomberg interview.
„There is practically nothing else we can do. Norway is already producing in the maximum possible volumes”, TASS quoted Opedal as saying.
Equinor was founded under the name Statoil in 1972, today 67% of the concern’s shares are owned by the Norwegian state. The company has 20 thousand employees.
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry questioned the ability of the United States to cover gas supplies to the EU.
The head of the White House, Joe Biden, announced the readiness of the states to cover a significant part of the gas needs of European countries in the event of a stoppage of supplies from Russia. At the same time, he linked the fate of Nord Stream 2 with the Russian “invasion” of Ukraine.
US and EU energy ministers at a meeting in Washington agreed to work to increase supplies of LNG to the world market. At the same time, the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, announced the agreements reached for reliable energy supplies not only for the EU, but also for Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans.
Last Friday, the White House said the United States was in discussions with “major suppliers” to increase gas supplies to Europe to replace those of Russia. In late January, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed hope that the US, Qatar and Azerbaijan would offset gas volumes for Europe in the event of a cut in fuel supplies from Russia. The Pentagon promised to work out options for gas supplies to Europe.
Meanwhile, the head of the German Industrial Union, Siegfried Russwurm, warned that it would be difficult to find a substitute for Russian gas in the event of a hypothetical supply cut, as Russia covers more than 50% of Germany’s gas needs. The European Commission said that around 20 EU countries depend to varying degrees on Russian gas. At the same time, at the end of January, the number of liquefied natural gas tankers in the waters of the EU countries increased sharply.
On January 28, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the European Commission (EC) is working closely with the administration of US President Joe Biden to develop a strategic partnership in the energy sector. Newspaper VZGLYAD has already analyzed how the actions of the USA in Europe are provoking the severe energy crisis.
Russia has repeatedly rejected false US claims about preparations for an invasion of Ukraine. Moscow claims that the US has developed a plan for a special operation to worsen the situation around Ukraine and blame Russia for it.
The Kremlin explained that the informational tension surrounding the movement of Russian troops on its own, Russian territory, is fueled in order to demonize Russia and position itself as an “aggressor”. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the US of stirring up military hysteria near Russia’s borders.
The head of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, stated that the West is gripped by war madness, speaking of the desire to “punish” Russia for the alleged planned “attack” against Ukraine. At the same time, he assured that Russia is ready for any developments in the field of security. The Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that Russia will not attack anyone, calling even the idea of war between our nations unacceptable.
Translation: ES
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