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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
Graham Hiscott

All you need to know about Europe's reliance on Russian gas and oil amid Ukraine war

As the war in Ukraine continues, Brits have been warned that fuel and gas prices could continue to go up.

Russia is one of the world's biggest oil producers. But how reliant are the UK and Europe and Russian oil and gas?

Here, we answer all your questions.

How reliant is the UK, and Europe, on Russian oil and gas?

Gas is the big concern, certainly as far as the EU is concerned, as it gets about 40% of its needs from Russia.

The UK gets just 5% to 6% of its gas imports from Russia, but we’re still impacted because wholesale gas is a globally traded commodity.

Russia is one of the world’s biggest oil producers, accounting for 10% of global demand.

The Russian civilian oil carrier SGV-Flot after it was hit by a missile shot from the Ukrainian port of Mariupol (FSB/TASS)

What happens if the world, and especially the EU, just stopped buying Russian gas?

“We’d be snookered,” said Nathan Piper, equity analyst for oil and gas at Investec. “All bets would be off.”

The obvious short-term alternative would be to buy more liquefied natural gas (LNG), which generally arrives on super tankers.

But LNG supplies are already very tight, and prices high.

The EU, and UK, could import more gas from Norway and North Africa, but they’re shipping it at maximum capacity.

Oil prices jumped following Russia's invasion of Ukraine (PA)

Would the EU and others halting Russian gas imports hit Putin?

Yes, although other countries in the world are likely to buy the gas we and others shun. China is an obvious possible candidate.

What are the alternatives to gas?

Renewables are part of the mix but we’re a long way off being able to rely on them.

Countries could delay the shutting down of nuclear plants and coal-fired power stations, or dust off mothballed ones, despite the environmental impacts and climate change pledges.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

What about oil?

Switching from Russian oil would mean having to buy from elsewhere, when supplies are already constrained by booming global demand.

The price of Russian oil has actually fallen by around 10% in the past few days, partly due to transportation issues.

But like gas, if the West snubs Russian oil, there is always likely to be someone else - not under the influence of possible sanctions - who will continue buying it.

Putin with Chief Executive of oil producer Rosneft Igor Sechin (via REUTERS)

What about the price we pay?

Ultimately, any limit to the supply of Russian oil and gas is likely to lead to higher prices.

The question is whether we’re prepared to swallow the impact on already strained household budgets, and inflation, not to mention what it means for businesses.

For oil, which is already over $100 a barrel, it could mean much higher prices.

A leap in wholesale gas prices over the past year is the main reason a price cap for 22 million UK households will jump by an average £700 a year to £1,971 from April 1.

That was based on wholesale costs at 128p a therm - they are now 300p.

Investec has already warned the price cap could rocket to £3,000 in October.

If wholesale gas costs stay as where they are, or rise, the hit could be even worse.

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