When we look at the security of natural gas supply of European countries, we see that they use different means to avoid being dependent on one country.

Germany, the largest economy in the European Union, is one of the countries most dependent on Russia. Germany’s biggest handicap is that in recent years it has supplied half of its natural gas needs from Russia, and deliveries have been made through pipelines, Turkish media reported, citing Rador.

Russia supplies natural gas to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 and Yamal pipelines. In addition, the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which was recently completed but was abandoned with the invasion of Ukraine, was intended to deliver even larger volumes to Germany.

For this reason, one of the countries that will be most affected by the cessation of natural gas supplies by Russia will be Germany:

• Germany imports natural gas from Norway and the Netherlands, even if it does not meet its needs.
• With storage capacity at 24%, Germany is counting on getting through this winter with natural gas from Norway and the Netherlands.
• France secures the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Norway,
• Spain and Portugal and from other countries, diversifying their imports,
• Italy supplies itself, in addition to the countries of the Middle East and Africa, with natural gas from Azerbaijan, and both countries are in the position of countries that have reduced their dependence on Russia.
• The UK is in a better position than Germany with natural gas imported from Norway, storage natural gas and LNG. Therefore, investing in LNG to reduce dependence on Russia will be a very important step.

World reserves of natural gas

The following countries have the largest reserves of natural gas in the world:

• Russia ranks first in the world with explored natural gas reserves of 37 trillion m³,
• in second place is Iran with 32 trillion m³,
• and in 3rd place is Qatar with 24.7 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.
• And the USA, which produces and exports the largest amount of natural gas in the world, is among the top four countries with the largest reserves, 13.6 trillion m³,
• Turkmenistan ranks 5th with 12.6 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.
• In Europe, the richest country in natural gas deposits is Norway. The reserves of Norway, the country with the largest reserves of natural gas in Europe, amount to 1.5 trillion m³. But this amount is not enough to ensure security of supply for the whole of Europe.

Could reducing dependence on Russia usher in a new era in energy security?

Research on resources and the region that can change the balance of energy security continues.

The Southern Corridor, which is close to Europe and has come to the fore in ensuring the security of natural gas supply to European countries, as well as the proven natural gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean region, are regions with high potential.

In the near future, the Eastern Mediterranean region will become an important strategic region for Europe, and primarily for the security of natural gas supply.

Due to the situation with Russia, which European countries are experiencing, on the one hand, they will have to diversify natural gas exporting countries, and on the other hand, to provide their needs not through gas pipelines, but through LNG imports. And this situation will force European countries to make new investments and innovations in energy, writes Yeni Şafak, which is quoted by Rador.