European Natural Gas Imports from Russia Exceed Those from U.S.

Russia has once again become the leading supplier of natural gas to Europe, surpassing the United States, despite Europe's efforts to reduce reliance on Russian energy due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

After Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Europe aimed to cut its dependency on Russian gas by importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the U.S. Initially, this strategy seemed successful. By September 2022, the U.S. had overtaken Russia as Europe's primary gas supplier, contributing to about a fifth of the region's supply.

However, recent data from ICIS shows that last month, Russian-piped gas and LNG shipments accounted for 15% of the total supply to the EU, UK, Switzerland, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia. In contrast, U.S. shipments have dropped to 14% of Europe's supply .

Several factors have contributed to this reversal, including an outage at a major U.S. natural gas export facility. Yet, underlying policy decisions also play a significant role. President Joe Biden's administration has paused issuing new licenses for natural gas exporters, leading to delays in signing new contracts with U.S. energy producers .

Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK) criticized the Biden administration's approach, stating, "The Biden Administration’s decision to pause approvals for new LNG export terminals has once again forced Europe into the pockets of Putin." She also highlighted the environmental and economic downsides, noting that Russian natural gas is 41% dirtier than American gas, harming both climate goals and domestic producers.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) also addressed this issue on his "Verdict" podcast, emphasizing that Biden and the Democrats are inadvertently aiding Russia. Cruz argued that Biden's policies are undermining U.S. energy independence and job creation while bolstering adversarial nations.

"Joe Biden and the Democrats have this incoherent view that they hate oil and gas produced in America, which, by the way, produces jobs, raises wages here in the United States, but they seemingly love oil and gas produced by our enemies. They love Russian oil and gas. They love Iranian oil and gas. They love Venezuelan oil and gas," Cruz stated.

The implications of these policies are significant. By hindering U.S. natural gas exports, the Biden administration is not only impacting domestic energy producers but also forcing Europe to turn back to Russia. This reliance on Russian energy provides Putin with critical revenue to fund his war efforts in Ukraine, countering the intended impact of European sanctions.

Europe's return to Russian gas highlights the urgent need for a coherent and strategic energy policy that prioritizes both national security and economic stability. The U.S. must reconsider its current stance to ensure that it remains a reliable energy partner for Europe and diminishes the financial power of adversarial nations.

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