Photo: ANP
The UK may be able to stop imports of Russian gas earlier than expected. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government thinks it can eliminate gas before the end of the year, insiders told Bloomberg news agency. The government’s official position is that the UK wants to stop importing them by the end of 2022, or as soon as possible after that.
Like the rest of Europe, Britain wants to end its dependence on Russian fossil fuels after the Ukrainian invasion of Ukraine. On Wednesday, Russia halted gas flows to Poland and Bulgaria because both countries refused to pay for gas deliveries in rubles, a request from Moscow in response to European sanctions, among other things.
Russian gas shipments to the UK have fallen to a fraction of last year’s levels. This gives the government more options to impose a complete import ban. But to keep markets flexible during the winter months, ministers remain in official positions.
By 2021, less than 4 percent of Britain’s gas supply will come from Russia. All the gas is shipped by liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker. Russian LNG exports to the UK are said to have fallen to 0.4 billion cubic meters in the first quarter of this year, sources said, from 1.6 billion cubic meters in the same period last year.
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