In April of this year, data released by the Royal Bank of Canada showed that Russia exported 46% of its liquefied natural gas to the European market.
This data was confirmed by the data analysis company Kpler.
For a long time, Europe has been a major consumer market for Russian natural gas.
Due to its proximity to Russia, Europe can transport natural gas to every household through a vast pipeline network.
Therefore, Russian natural gas is crucial for Europe.
However, with the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and pressure from the United States, Europe had to impose sanctions on Russia and gradually reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas.
Despite facing immense political pressure, Europe still finds it difficult to resist the price advantage of Russian natural gas, so actual imports have not been completely halted.
However, the damage to the Nord Stream pipeline ultimately severed Europe's expectations of Russian natural gas, leading to Europe independently embargoing Russian natural gas.
Faced with the European natural gas embargo, Russia quickly adjusted its strategy and turned to Asia, particularly rapidly developing economies like India.
This partially filled the gap in the European market.
However, after Europe abandoned Russian natural gas, it faced the challenge of finding alternative sources of supply.
Currently, there are three options available: purchasing from Norway, purchasing from the United States, or indirect imports from countries such as Hungary, Serbia, and Turkey.
As a member of the European Union, Hungary was not affected by the embargo because it vehemently opposed and ultimately obtained an exemption when the EU discussed imposing an embargo on Russian natural gas.
Turkey is not a member of the European Union and does not support US sanctions, so it can purchase Russian natural gas normally and has direct pipelines.
For EU countries adjacent to Hungary, Serbia, and Turkey, indirect purchase of Russian natural gas is more cost-effective.
The European natural gas embargo has had a significant impact on Russia, forcing it to turn to other markets, particularly the Asian market, to fill the gap in the European market.
For Europe, there is a challenge in finding alternative sources of supply and they need to balance options such as Norway, the United States, and indirect imports to ensure they can meet their ongoing energy needs.
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