Until now, his influence energy crisis he did not take Europe particularly seriously. But the danger has not passed, the oil giants are not at all considering new price increaseincluding because of the policies pursued by the European Union.

This risk, mostly linked to a ceiling on Russian oil prices, “could cause significant and abrupt changes in the broader market landscape that are likely to affect their orderly functioning and, consequently, economic stability.” reported a few days ago. The restriction will come into effect on February 15. Currently, the price of Brent crude oil has been steadily declining since December 30, as has the most important natural gas market in the Netherlands.

Robin Brooks, chief economist at the Institute for International Financial Affairs, stressed on January 26 that falling prices send a mixed message to Europe. There is still an “energy shock”, if not a crisis, Brooks wrote on his Twitter account. Electricity prices are higher in some countries, most notably in Germany, where the “heart” of the European economy beats.

Electricity prices in Europe remained higher than last year, despite the fact that the prices of basic commodities decreased.

The EU has succeeded in excluding Russian oil from its energy balance, although natural gas supplies continue through the Turkish Stream pipeline. A certain amount of Russian oil enters Europe through transshipment. To replace them, Europe has begun building bridges with countries such as Qatar, Egypt, the US and Azerbaijan. Some of them, however, carry political risks.

The United States has replaced part of Russian gas supplies with liquefied natural gas (LNG). This requires the appropriate infrastructure, which Europe needs to develop further, although it has enough to make the US its main supplier of LNG. The US became the world’s largest LNG exporter in the first quarter of 2022, thanks to Europe, according to the Energy Information Administration.