The official data they are not encouraging. 77% of energy needs of the average European are satisfied with oil, gas and coal. Nuclear energy represents 14% and renewable energy They contribute the remaining 9%. This was the case in 2010. In 2020, renewable energies are 17%. Nuclear power, 13%. Y we continue to depend oil (35%), natural gas (24%) and coal (12%), which together make up 71%. It is not surprising that when they occurred gas pipeline explosions that unite Germany with Russia, all trembled in Europe. Winter was coming. And it was going to be very hard in many ways.
Europe needs natural gas to meet your energy needs. On the one hand, as raw material for heat homes, businesses, public and private buildings and for different industries. On the other hand, as fuel for generate electricity. And electricity is a good on which we depend more and more. especially if we want reduce CO2 that we generate by consuming fossil fuels.
So the European dependence on natural gas is added to the condition of that gas. And it is that 58% of energy consumed in the European Union is of external origin to European territory. And if we only talk about natural gas, the main suppliers They are Russia, Algeria, Iran, Azerbaijan and the United States.
Which countries provide gas to Europe?
The 40% natural gas that Europe receives from countries outside the Union comes from Russia. And when we talk about Europe we also include, on this occasion, the United Kingdom. This dependency has become a big problem. Especially for Germany, a country that decided to close its nuclear power plants to bet it all on natural gas. While towards a transition towards a more sustainable model. It was the decision of the German government when it was directed by Angela Merkel. A measure to look good publicly after the Fukushima accident.
But with the war in Ukraine, Germany was trapped in its role as an important member of the European Union, which was forced to sanction Russia, and its dependence on Russian gas to meet its energy needs. The only thing missing was that European Russian gas pipelines of northern Europe were blown up.
Norway’s role as a gas supplier
Be that as it may, not only Germany depends on Russia. Looking at a European map, you can see that Russia’s proximity to other European countries makes them even more dependent on Russian gas. It is the case of Sweden, Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia either Austria. And although the second supplier of natural gas is Norway (more than 30%), Russian dependence remains irreplaceable.
Also, let’s remember that Norway is geographically European, but not part of the European Union. Although apply the Schengen agreement. This is because Norway’s relations with the EU are governed by the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement, which implies being part of the EU’s internal market and applying certain common policies. But it’s not so tied to europe like others its neighbors Sweden and Finland.
Algeria as a supplier in southern Europe
The third source of natural gas in Europe is Algeria. In this sense, the countries of southern Europe have not been so affected by Russian dependence. And it is that Algeria supplies natural gas to Spain, Portugal, Italy Y France.
However, the war in Ukraine has caused import figures to vary from previous years. Especially when importing liquefied natural gas (LNG). And it is that the European Union is the world’s largest importer of LNG. This represents almost 40% of the total demand for gas. As it is transported in large ships, more countries enter the list of suppliers in Europe. According to data from the European Council, in the first quarter of 2022, USA was the largest supplier of LNG. Almost 50% of the total.
And what is the situation in Spain? According to data from enagásas of October 2022, the import of LNG was 64% of the total of imported natural gas. The main supplier of gas to Spain has been the United States. Followed by Algeria, Nigeria Y Russia. And further away France, Qatar Y Egypt. In 2021, the list was topped by Algeria by far (43%). far behind, USA (14%), Nigeria (eleven%)France (8%), Russia (9%) and Taste (6%).
European gas pipelines coming from Russia
We said that Russia satisfies more than 40% of the natural gas that Europe imports. That without counting coal or oil. The importation of natural gas is carried out entirely through gas pipelines connecting Russian territory with European territory. These pipelines are, from north to south, Nord Stream 1 and 2, Yamal, gas pipelines that cross Ukraine and TurkStream.
Due to the explosions detected in Nord Stream 1 and 2, these pipelines were rendered useless. His capacity was 55,000 million cubic meters per year. But despite the war with UkraineRussia continues to pump gas through the ukrainian gas pipelines.
jamal joins Russia with belarus Y Poland using for this purpose more than 4,000 kilometers of gas pipelines. Links the Yamal Peninsula and western Siberia with Poland and Germany through Belarus. Of course, the route that he makes through German territory has another name: JAGAL. Yamal’s capacity is 33,000 million cubic meters per year.
The Ukrainian war and the supply of natural gas
The gas pipelines that cross Ukraine connect with Germany, Italy Y Poland but also with Austria, Hungary Y Romania. They have a capacity of 40,000 million of cubic meters per year, according to The Economist. The middle Coffee Or Die The current production is estimated at 42 million cubic meters per day (October 2022). Which would give a figure of just over 15,000 million cubic meters per year. However, in 2019, the figure was 65 billion cubic meters per year with the idea of sending 40 billion more each year until 2024.
War or no war Russia needs the infrastructure of Ukrainian gas pipelines. But the war has meant that the shipment of gas has been reduced. In May, the part of the gas pipeline that passes through Sokhranivka it was cut off by the Ukrainian operator forced by close fighting.
TurkStream It has a capacity of 31,500 million cubic meters per year. It connects Russia with Turkey and, already in European territory, with Bulgaria. In the future, it should also connect with Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia Y Austria.
As a curiosity, I also mention the gas pipeline BlueStream, which also links Russia with Turkey but in the depths of the Baltic Sea. It has a capacity of 16,000 million cubic meters per year. They wanted to connect with Europe. Specifically with Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia and Hungary. But the plan was replaced by another that was to connect Russia with Bulgaria. This too was canceled and replaced by TurkStream.
Gas pipelines coming from Norway
Norway is one of the largest oil and natural gas exporters of the world. As for natural gas, it is the third largest exporter along with Russia Y Taste. And as the official page of the main Norwegian oil company explains, Norwegian gas pipelines could cover the distance that separates Oslo from Bangkok. However, in addition to using gas pipelines, Norway also exports liquefied natural gas in big ships. But for Europe and UK, the main method is the pipeline.
The main European gas pipelines originating in Norway are Norpipe and Europipe 1 and 2, which connect Norway with Germany. then we have Zeepipe 1which connects with Belgium, franpipe, which connects with France. And with the United Kingdom, there are the gas pipelines langeled Y vesterled. In turn, these gas pipelines are connected to each other or to other gas pipelines to connect with Norwegian territory and with the different gas extraction plants, many of them over the sea. If you’re interested, Norwegian Petroleum allows us to see a complete list of Norwegian gas pipelines with the cities they connect, in which countries, which company operates these pipelines, their length and the year they started operating.
Gas pipelines coming from Algeria
In southern Europe, the main supplier of gas through pipelines is Algeria. It is among the top ten exporters. And with today’s European pipeline network, it sends gas to Spain and Italy. To which must be added the two liquefied natural gas plants with which it also exports gas to these and other countries in the area.
Focusing on the gas pipelines, Algeria is connected with Spain mainly through the submarine gas pipeline medgaz. It begins by land in Hassi R’mel, in the north of the country, and then crosses the waters of the Mediterranean between Beni Saf and Almería. The land part measures 547 kilometers, while the underwater part does not reach 200 kilometers. Its capacity is 10,500 million cubic meters per year.
Previously, the connection between Spain and Algeria was through Morocco with the pipeline Maghreb-Europe. Also starting in Hassi R’Mel, it crosses Morocco and then connects with Spain until it reaches Córdoba. Then it has a branch that connects with Portugal through Extremadura. In total, it is 1,620 kilometers long and has a capacity of 12,000 million cubic meters per year.
The GALSI pipeline links Algeria with Italy also passing through the island of Sardinia (Italy). Its capacity is 10,000 million cubic meters per year. For its part, the trans-Mediterranean gas pipeline or transmed unites Algeria with Tunisia and Italy also passing through the island of Sicily (Italy). Its capacity is 30.2 billion cubic meters per year. And finally, we have the gas pipeline Greenstream connecting Libya with Italy. Its capacity is 11,000 million cubic meters per year.