Baku, Azerbaijan, March 9
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Since their Joint Statement of 25 July 2018 in Washington D.C., when President Juncker and President Trump agreed to strengthen EU-US strategic cooperation including in the area of energy, EU imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US have increased by 181 percent, Trend reports citing the European Commission.
“With a share of 12.6 percent of EU-LNG imports in 2019 so far, the U.S. is Europe's third biggest supplier of LNG. The European Union is ready to facilitate more imports of liquefied natural gas from the US, if the market conditions are right and prices competitive. This will allow US exporters to further diversify their European markets whilst contributing to the EU's objectives of security of supply and diversification. Currently, U.S. legislation still requires prior regulatory approval for liquefied natural gas exports to Europe. These restrictions need to be addressed and US rules made easier for US liquefied natural gas to be exported in larger quantities to the EU,” reads a message from the European Commission.
Compared to the period before the 25 July 2018 Joint Statement, cumulative EU imports of US LNG are up by 181 percent at 7.9 billion cubic meters until early March 2019;
In terms of the EU's total imports of LNG, the US share was 12 percent, over the last six months, compared to 2.3 percent before the Joint Statement and since the first US LNG cargo to Europe in April 2016.
In the month of January 2019, EU imports of U.S. LNG from the U.S. were 1.3 billion cubic meters, up from 102 million cubic meters compared to the same month in 2018. In February 2019 total US LNG imports amounted to 0.6 billion cubic meters.
On 18 January 2019 the Commission adopted proposals for negotiating directives for its trade talks with the United States: one on conformity assessment and one on the elimination of tariffs for industrial goods.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn