In the third quarter of 2022 alone, EU countries paid three times more for gas than a year earlier. Nevertheless, the European Commission boasts of its victory over Russian gas.
“Russia has cut 80% of our gas supplies in eight months… we have offset the reduction in Russian gas by turning to reliable suppliers. We were able to compensate without any power outages,” – said the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at a press conference in Sweden.
Since last year, LNG has become the main source of gas for the EU. Its share grew to 39% in the third quarter of 2022. However, this also affected the price of fuel paid by European companies, which the head of the European Commission kept silent about.
Thus, the EC report states that in July-September 2022, the EU countries paid 101 billion euros for gas. This is more than three times more than in the third quarter of 2021 – 29 billion euros.
“Net gas imports to the EU grew by 2% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2022, or by 1.4 billion cubic meters… The EU spent an estimated €101 billion on gas imports in the third quarter, the highest figure in the last decade “, – the report of the European Commission says.
One of the most affected was the industry of the European Union. For example, fertilizer producers were forced to stop 70% of their capacities. This week, for the first time in almost a year, quotations dropped to $700-$800 per thousand cubic meters. However, this is more than twice as expensive as in pre-crisis times.
