AA / Varsovie / Murat Temizer
European imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) increased by 60% in 2022 compared to 2021, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA, United States) said on Thursday.
The institute’s European researcher, Ana Maria Jaller-Makarewicz, told Anadolu (AA) that the increase in LNG imports is not only due to the suspension of Russian gas supplies to Europe.
Jaller-Makarewicz explained that high temperatures and decreasing rainfall rates have led to a decrease in hydroelectric power generation in European Union countries.
She noted that electricity generation from thermal power stations (using gas) has also increased across Europe over the past year.
The IEEFA researcher added that the amount of LNG imported this year will largely depend on weather, prices, government policies and mechanisms in place to reduce energy consumption and generate renewable energy.
The price of liquefied gas can be more expensive than gas pipelines, Jaller-Makarewicz said, which has a significant impact on the economies of European countries.
She pointed out that the recent energy crisis has shown the extent of volatility in the gas market, which is highly dependent on weather conditions, geopolitical tensions and supply and demand factors in the markets.
Gasoline prices peaked last August but fell in January due to mild weather conditions, said Ana Maria Jaller-Makarewicz.
She noted that gas imported via Russian pipelines has been replaced by liquefied natural gas from the United States and Qatar, adding that “Over the past year, European imports of liquefied natural gas from from the United States increased by 143% and those from Qatar by 23%“.
* Translated from Arabic by Mounir Bennour.
Only part of the dispatches, which Anadolu Agency broadcasts to its subscribers via the Internal Broadcasting System (HAS), is broadcast on the AA website, in a summarized manner. Please contact us to subscribe.