LONDON | Europe’s move away from Russian gas has solved one strategic dependency while creating another question: how much reliance on U.S. liquefied natural gas is too much?
Reuters reported that European reliance on U.S. gas is expected to rise as the bloc phases out Russian gas. Research cited in the report warned that Europe could become increasingly dependent on one supplier for liquefied natural gas imports.
The shift is understandable. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European governments moved to reduce exposure to Russian pipeline gas and replace it with alternative supplies. U.S. LNG helped keep European storage filled and gave governments a way to avoid returning to Moscow for energy security.
But diversification is not the same thing as substitution. If Europe replaces one dominant supplier with another, it remains exposed to price swings, shipping bottlenecks, political changes and export policy debates. LNG is flexible, but it is also tied to global cargo markets and infrastructure constraints.
The policy question for Europe is whether emergency supply decisions made during crisis become a permanent energy architecture. Regulators and analysts are urging more supplier diversity, faster efficiency gains and stronger investment in renewables, storage and heat pumps so the region is not simply trading one risk for another.
Additional Reporting By: Reuters