Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is designing a new energy map where Europe, a large consumer of a gas it does not, is the spoils of war in a market that the United States, an increasingly productive supplier of liquefied natural gas to the world, is set to fight Russiahistoric and major supplier of the continent of Europe.

“The United States has been the great beneficiary of Russia’s gas crisis in the face of which the European Union has decided to gradually reduce purchases and replace it with liquefied gas from other sources,” he said. Clarion José María Yusta, a Spanish industrial engineer who specializes in energy markets.

“The United States has decided to become one of the largest gas producers in the world interested in expanding its client portfolio,” added Yusta, who is also executive director of Energy Communities at the University of Zaragoza.

In a presentation he made a few days ago in that Aragonese city during the XXII Conference on Economy and Defense, the specialist in energy markets emphasized one fact: in 2035, the United States will be the leading suppliers in the world, including Australia, of liquefied natural gas.

For four or five years, European companies would buy gas from Americans because it was cheaper.

“The United States is becoming an exporter of natural gas at a very competitive price and Europe is signing contracts for a long time -explained Yusta-. But this is not because of the conflict with Russia. This is not a circumstantial issue but of the market. ”

According to the Strategic Reserves Corporation for Petroleum Products, the United States will, by 2020, the main country where Spain bought liquefied gas (15.64 percent). From Russia he got 10.43 percent and Argentina sold him the 0.46 percent of gas supplied by the Spaniards that year.

“It’s a business for countries that export liquefied gas but in the short term because, in the medium term, Europe will try to quickly reduce its dependence on fossil fuels”

Jose Maria Yusta

Spanish industrial engineer

However, the United States must take advantage of the opportunity offered by the war in Ukraine to increase its gas exports since this time expand the European client portfolio there is due date not too far.

“It’s a business for countries that export liquefied gas but in the short term because, in the medium term, Europe will try to reduce its confidence fast from fossil fuels, gas and oil imports from Russia, mainly ”, Yusta said.

And this points to another consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukrainian territory: accelerating ecological transition where major European countries have begun to have their economies turn to the use of renewable energies such as hydro, wind, solar.

According to the Monthly Bulletin of December 2021 of Red Eléctrica de España, 52 percent of its electrical system was supplied last year by non-renewable energy generation sources.

Although from the Palacio de la Moncloa, President Pedro Sánchez insisted that Spain will reach 2050 with a neutral country on carbon emissions and an electrical system entirely based on renewables.

“From a technical point of view, whether the gas comes in gaseous form or whether it is sent to the methane tanker in liquid form is indifferent. It is natural gas in any case – clarifies Yusta-. The problem is the cost. ”

“The liquefied gas is sent to methane tankers in liquid form and is regasified in regasification plants -specialist explanation-. Convert that gas into liquid, through the process of liquidation, take it to special ships and then, arriving in the country where it will be consumed, convert the liquefied gas back into gas tIt has a higher cost process of change and transportation that without the gas coming through the gas pipeline. ”

In return, the advantage of being able to deliver it from distant lands allows us to have gases of various origins.

“For example, Spain has a highly diversified gas supply,” said Yusta. It came from 15 different countries, ”he said

And he listed: “Around 40 percent are from Algeria, but the remaining 60 percent are from different countries. Thank you, Spain’s position is better than almost all other countries in Europe. We have almost no reliance on Russian gas and we have regasification plants to process the supply that comes in bulk ”.

In Spain there are six plants that return liquefied gas to its natural state. This is the European country with more regasification plants. It is followed by the United Kingdom, France and Turkey, with four, and Italy, with three.

But for now, Russia remains the main supplier of gas to the European Union.

Russia, “reliable partner”the

“It’s interesting to study that, commercially, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began the flow of natural gas is not delayed at any time. Neither on the part of Russia nor on the part of Ukraine – underlined by Yusta -. Both want to continue showing up in Europe who are reliable partners. One, to produce and send, and the other, for gas transit, because an integral part of Russia’s gas transit passing through Ukraine. ”

And he added: “There have been local problems, where the bombing of cities has disrupted the distribution of internal gas in Ukraine. However, the infrastructure of gas transportation from Russia to Slovakia and central Europe has not been delayed any time “.

Madrid. Correspondent

ap