Russian energy companies have moved to shore up relationships with non-European buyers in recent weeks as the continent seeks to reduce its reliance in Moscow.
Gazprom held talks with Kuwait and Egypt about expanding supplies of liquefied natural gas, and next month hopes to sign a large long-term supply deal with China. Igor Sechin, president of Rosneft and an ally of Vladimir Putin, went on a whirlwind tour of customers and counterparties in Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and India. Ronald Smith, Citigroup oil and gas analyst in Moscow, said the current crisis was “turning Russian eyes east”.
None would disagree, however, that if Europe was successful in navigating away from Russian energy, the impact on Russia would be significant. While Europe is dependent on Russian oil, gas and coal supplies, the dependence is mutual: Europe accounts for half of Gazprom’s gas revenues, according to the company, and 71 per cent of Russia’s crude oil exports, according to the International Energy Agency.