BAKU. Azerbaijan, April 28. European Union seeking to end its fossil fuel dependency on Russia creates significant new opportunities for Kazakhstan, the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Lithuania told Trend.
The ministry official noted that as European Union seeks to end its fossil fuel dependency from Russia and cuts down coal, oil and gas supplies from Russia, no doubt there is a strong interest in the EU to strengthen energy cooperation with alternative energy resource suppliers.
“Kazakhstan is a major conventional energy resource exporter and a global leading uranium producer, thus current situation indeed creates significant new opportunities for Kazakhstan’s hydrocarbon sector and transportation infrastructure,” the ministry official said.
In turn, the Foreign Ministry of France noted that European Union member states are fully mobilized to reduce their energy dependence on Russia and diversify their sources of supply.
“In this context, we are working with all reliable oil and gas producers to identify alternatives to Russia,” the French ministry official said.
Data says that Europe is heavily dependent on Russia for its oil and gas. In 2021, two-fifths of the gas Europeans burned came from Russia. And over a quarter of the EU’s imported crude oil comes from Russia.
The US, EU, and the UK have all announced that they will curb Russian oil and gas imports in light of the conflict in Ukraine.
This includes a plan by the EU to cut its reliance on Russian gas by two-thirds by the end of the year. It is also fast-forwarding plans to make the EU independent of Russian fossil fuels by 2030.
This will mean the EU both finding alternative sources for its gas in the short term, as well as boosting efficiency and the transition to greener alternatives.
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