(dpa/TBI Africa. com) U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Thursday promoted his country’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a way of diversifying and securing European energy supplies.
“We oppose using energy to coerce any nation and we remain a rock-solid reliable supplier of natural gas,’’ Perry said at a high-level conference in Brussels, aimed at boosting LNG trade.
The initiative comes against the backdrop of trade tensions between the European Union and the United States, after Washington raised metals import tariffs in 2018 and threatened to follow suit on European car exports.
In an effort at reconciliation, U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker agreed in July to reduce trade barriers in several areas.
“The European Union wants to import more LNG from the United States to diversify its energy supply,’’ they said in a joint statement released at the time.
Since then, U.S. exports have risen by 272 per cent, EU Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete announced on Thursday.
In the first months of 2019, the EU has imported 13 per cent of its energy from the U.S., compared to five per cent in 2018, he added.
In the past, LNG has generally been considered too expensive, due to the effort required to liquefy and transport it.
However, Trump has criticised Europe for being overly dependent on Russian gas, notably through the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
The Brussels conference brings together top LNG industry executives from both sides of the Atlantic, with a view to boosting the sector.
“Diversifying gas supplies is and will remain essential for our sovereignty and for our security of supply,’’ Canete said.
