Nord Stream blasts ‘tremendous opportunity’ to wean EU off Russian energy

Sabotage of two underwater gas pipelines from Russia to Germany offer chance to prevent Putin from 'weaponising energy’ says Antony Blinken.

Gas bubbles from a leak on the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, in the Swedish economic zone in the Baltic Sea. Picture: AFP.

The sabotage of two underwater gas pipelines from Russia to Germany, escalating tension between Moscow and NATO allies, has created a “tremendous strategic opportunity” to wean Europe off Russian oil and gas exports, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.

A war of words erupted between the US, European nations and Russia after explosions the two Gazprom-owned pipelines, known as Nord Stream 1 and 2, were put out of action by underwater explosions last week.

Mr Blinken said the Kremlin’s claim the US was behind them was “absurd”, speaking at a press conference on Friday (Saturday AEDT) alongside Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly, who was visiting Washington, echoing claims Moscow was the most likely culprit.

“Ultimately this is also a tremendous opportunity; it’s a tremendous opportunity to once and for all remove the dependence on Russian energy and thus to take away from Vladimir Putin the weaponisation of energy as a means of advancing his imperial designs,” Mr Blinken said.

“Europe itself has taken very significant steps to both decrease demand but also look at ways to pursue the transition to renewables at the same time,” he added, pointing out the US was now the leading supplier of LNG to Europe.

A little under 60 per cent of LNG exported from the US, which pipped Australia and Qatar to become the world’s largest LNG exporter in the first half of 2022, went to Europe in the month of August, up from 19 per cent a year ago, according to a commodities analyst Vortexa.

European nations have scrambled to build and expand LNG terminals as they struggle to fill reserve supplies ahead of the northern winter, seeking additional imports from Norway and the US, as gas prices have soared, creating powerful incentives for global suppliers to redirect LNG to Europe.

Benchmark gas prices in Europe averaged around US$34 per million British thermal units so far in 2022 compared, between January and July, compared with US$29 in Asia and US$6 in the US.

Imports of US gas by Belgium increased by 650 per cent in the first half of the year, while they slumped by 72 per cent to Pakistan, according to Reuters.

“Where Canada can really make a difference is through our new Kitimat LNG facility, which will be able to provide LNG starting 2025,” said Ms Joly as the press conference.

Denmark, which on Sunday (Monday AED) said Nord Stream 1 had stopped leaking gas, and Sweden, in whose economic zones the explosions occurred, have launched investigation into the cause of the explosions, which NATO earlier said were “deliberate, reckless, and irresponsible” acts of sabotage, stopping short of naming Moscow.

Russian president Vladimir Putin, in a belligerent speech aimed at the West after formalities to incorporate occupied Ukrainian provinces into Russia, last week blamed “the Anglo Saxons” and their allies for engineering the explosions.

President Joe Biden, speaking on Friday (Saturday AEST) later said the attacks were a “deliberate act of sabotage”, accusing the Russians of “pumping out disinformation and lies”.

“We’re working with our allies to get to the bottom exactly what precisely happened and at my direction have already begun to help our allies enhance the protection of this critical infrastructure,” the president said at the White House.

US and UK intelligence experts say Russia is the most likely culprit, arguing Mr Putin was seeking to fan fear throughout the West and signal that he was capable of blowing up other pipelines, such as one recently opened from Norway to Poland.