The European Union is largely dependent on the import of energy resources from Russia. This country comes 25 percent. crude oil imported by the EU, 45 percent. natural gas imports, as well as 44 percent. imported hard coal.
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The EU wants to cut off from Putin’s raw materials
However, as the latest report of the Polish Economic Institute shows, however, it is possible to significantly reduce the EU’s dependence on Russia for energy resources. The European Union could reduce gas imports from Russia by as much as 91 percent. already in 2022
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Experts from the government think-tank took a closer look at the trade in “black gold”, or crude oil. As they explain, oil imports to the EU in the last three years are less dependent on supplies from the eastern direction. Apart from Russia, which supplies approx. 25 percent. crude oil, the EU imports raw material from Norway, Kazakhstan, the USA, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Iraq and other countries. In Poland, the share of Russian oil in total consumption and imports has decreased by around 30 percentage points over the last decade. percent and is currently just over 60 percent.
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The oil freeze is a $ 50 billion blow.
PIE experts argue that the countries of Central and Eastern Europe are more dependent on Russian oil than Western countries. F.rance, Austria and Spain imported less than 10 percent. this raw material from Russia. The largest amounts of oil were imported in nominal terms by Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. Here, the share of Russian oil imports was about 20-30%, and in Slovakia, Finland, Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland, oil from Russia accounted for over 60%.
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– Sustainable diversification of oil supplies does not require significant infrastructure investments. Already today, most of the imports to the EU are made by sea. In the past year, even half of the capacity of the Polish Naftoport was not used. Increasing the production of crude oil in North America would allow for nearly 1 million barrels a day, or approx. 40 percent. crude oil imported from Russia. In the event of favorable negotiations with OPEC countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran, increasing supplies from these directions could reach even 3.8 million b / d – explains Magdalena Maj, analytical PIE.
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What about natural gas?
A similar situation also applies to the import of natural gas (more about it HERE). The PIE report shows that the EU could be over 90 percent. to become independent from gas supplies from Russia. This would be helped by, inter alia, increasing the use of existing infrastructure. The average use of European LNG terminals in 2021 was only 46%.
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A necessary element of strengthening the EU’s strategic energy security in the field of gas would be the development of infrastructure – greater use of LNG terminals, their expansion, as well as acceleration of the implementation of new terminals. It is also necessary to implement interconnector projects enabling the full use and crowding of the newly created storage capacities – adds Magdalena Maj.
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In addition to diversifying the supply of raw materials, the EU may reduce energy demand through changes in consumer behavior. The simplest actions include reducing the room temperature by 1 degree during the heating season and reducing air conditioning use by 2 degrees during the summer period, reducing electricity consumption during peak hours. It is also important to implement programs for the exchange of heat sources and thermo-modernization of buildings. In transport, in turn, it is worth promoting public transport and changing the driving style of drivers to more efficient in terms of fuel consumption.
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