By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union and United States will pledge on Monday to work to ensure liquefied (LNG) supplies can respond to disruptions in pipeline gas flows, as tensions rise between the West and Russia, Europe’s biggest gas supplier.

In recent months, Europe’s dependency on Russian gas was under fire. A lower-than-expected supply from Russia as well rising tensions about Moscow’s building up of troops at its Ukrainian border have pushed prices to new highs.

Russia is the largest gas supplier to Europe and supplies around 40% of Europe’s natural gas.

According to Reuters, a draft statement that was shared by the two countries shows how they will cooperate on LNG.

According to the draft, “The EU” and “The United States” intend to collaborate so that the global liquefied gas markets can provide additional supplies for pipeline gas disruptions in a short-term. This could be changed before publication.

It could help if Russia reduced gas flows as a response to Western economic sanction if Russia invades Ukraine. According to the Kremlin, it does not plan an invasion.

Officials from the EU and International Energy Agency have accused Moscow of contributing to a lower than normal gas supply to Europe in recent months. Gazprom (MCX 🙂 stated that it fulfills all contracts.

The draft EU-U.S. declaration stated that “It is not acceptable to use energy supply in a weapon or as a geopolitical lever.”

The record-breaking January 11.8 billion cubic meters of LNG imported to Europe came from nearly 45% of the United States.

EU officials are currently reviewing their contingency plans in case of gas supply interruptions. EU officials met with Norwegian and Qatari suppliers late last year to discuss boosting volume.

Initial plans included additional plans to address high prices. But, rising tensions towards Russia have led to increased talks.

After meeting with Azerbaijani officials, EU energy policy chief Kadri SIMSON stated that Azerbaijan showed a willingness to help the EU in an event of disruptions in gas flow.

The European LNG infrastructure that is not being used could allow for larger volumes. However, experts warn about bottlenecks such as limited global liquefaction capacities.

Monday’s draft declaration made it clear that gas is not a long-term solution. It cited the need for a longer-term shift away from fossil fuels such as gas as part of the EU’s efforts to reduce global warming and reach net zero emission by 2050.