The European Union needs to suspend its planned ban on imports of Russian LNG, currently slated to take place on January 1, 2027, as the Middle East war has roiled energy markets, according to Claudio Descalzi, the chief executive of Italy’s oil and gas major Eni.
“I think that it is necessary to suspend the ban that will take place from January 1, 2027 on LNG supply coming from Russia,” Descalzi said at an event on Sunday.
“I am not suggesting that the ban should be totally abandoned, but it needs to be suspended or further phased, so as not to penalize additionally the industrial sector, which is already struggling with high energy costs,” the executive added.
The EU is banning, effective April 25, imports of LNG from Russia under spot contracts as part of its wider stepwise ban on all Russian gas imports by the end of 2027. A full ban will take effect for LNG imports from the beginning of 2027 and for pipeline gas imports from the autumn of 2027.
The uncertainty about the war and the fact that no LNG cargo has passed through the Strait of Hormuz since the war began have had Asian buyers turning to the spot market, outbidding Europe for supply, just when Europe needs it to refill its storage sites.
Top Russian officials said last month that Moscow would redirect LNG exports away from the EU without waiting for the full ban to take effect.
This weekend, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia would be ready to keep supplying natural gas to Europe if there are any volumes left from increased exports to other markets.
“If gas is left from supplies to alternative markets, then why not? There is plenty of gas at the moment, and we have spare amounts. However, alternative markets are very greedy, and they make a lot of requests for supplies,” Peskov said on Sunday, as quoted by TASS.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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