Official: EU ready for Russian gas supply disruptions

BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (PRIME) -- The E.U. is ready for possible disruptions of gas supplies from Russia, European Commission Chairwoman Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.

"We are also ready in case that the Russian leadership decides to weaponise the energy issue," she said.

"During the last weeks, we have looked into all possible disruption scenarios in case Russia decides to partially or completely disrupt gas supplies to the E.U.,” she said.

“And I can say that our models show that we are now rather on the safe side this winter."

Von der Leyen said that the E.U. has been negotiating higher purchases of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for many weeks and Europe already received record LNG shipments in January as a result.

The European Union is fully depends on energy imports with Russia being the top supplier with 40% of the market.

The European gas prices have started rising since last spring when the average spot price fluctuated between U.S.$250-300 per thousand cubic meters. It rose to $600 at the end of summer, and to $1,000 at the start of October. In December, the quotes doubled to an all-time high of $2,190.

High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Polucy Josep Borrell said that Russia strictly adheres to all its contract obligations, but declines additional sales to replenish the storages triggering new jitters on the market.

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