Shake the Russian monopoly

The process of separating Europe from the Russian gas monopoly is in full swing. Lithuania has become another European country that has begun buying LNG from a US supplier after Poland and the countries of southern Europe have done so. Russian monopolists are placed in a position of direct competition. Lithuanian Lietuvos Duju Tiekimas (LDT) has signed a contract with a US subsidiary, Cheniere Energy, to supply LNG directly from the state, Reuters reported, citing information from the Lithuanian state gas company. 

The agency says that the Baltic state for the first time buys directly American liquefied methane. The first quantities are expected to be delivered in the second half of August. With this deal, Lithuania is counting on a real diversification of natural gas supplies and a reduction in import dependency by the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom. According to the Lithuanian Ministry of Energy, the first tanker has already arrived at Klaipeda harbor where a liquefaction terminal natural gas. According to the ministry, supplies of US natural gas will help boost competition. The tanker has supplied 140,000 m3 of natural gas to Lithuania, a second tanker expected in September. Supply of US blue fuels will also be available for Estonia, which is also building a terminal since June this year.

After the Americans signed contracts with the Baltic republics, Gazprom's price for them fell by 50%, the ministry said. Liquefied shale gas from the United States continues to hit Europe's energy market. After gaining serious customers in southern Europe, now a country from the northern part of the continent, Poland, began to buy gas, LNG World news reported. The contract for shale gas delivery to Poland was concluded in April this year. This is the first supply of US gas to a country in Eastern Europe where Gazprom holds 80% of the market. As it is known, Warsaw has announced that it is giving up Russian natural gas in 2022 when the contract with Gazprom expires. US companies have declared readiness to build LNG terminals if there is a long-term supply contract with the country.

Russia is in a situation to re-negotiate prices, for the first time in history the monopoly has been effectively challenged. Additional headaches of Russian oligarchs are building a pipeline from Azerbaijan. Turkey and Azerbaijan are building a new 10 billion-dollar natural gas pipeline to supply blue-and-green gas from the Central Asian country to Turkey and subsequently to European Union (EU) consumers. The 1850 km long pipeline, known as the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP), should be completed in 2018 and aims to connect to the existing South Caucasus tube linking Turkey to Azerbaijan gas fields in Caspian Sea.