TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne warned that Europe should avoid overreliance on US liquefied natural gas (LNG) as it reduces imports from Russia. Speaking on LCI Television, Pouyanne said U.S. President Donald Trump is promoting higher American LNG exports to Europe, which could drive up energy prices. He stressed the importance of maintaining a diverse supply of energy sources. TotalEnergies, the largest importer of US LNG to Europe, has seen European dependence on global LNG grow since Russia reduced pipeline flows following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The EU has also approved sanctions, including a ban on Russian LNG imports starting in 2027.
TotalEnergies SE Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne said European nations should avoid becoming too reliant on imports of US liquefied natural gas as they prepare to further trim supplies from Russia.
US President Donald Trump “seeks somehow to replace the Russian dependency with an American dependency” as Europe looks for energy, Pouyanne said on LCI Television Wednesday. The US is “supplying about 40% of Europe in liquefied natural gas and there’s pressure from President Trump to increase that share, which is significant.” […]
TotalEnergies is the biggest importer of US LNG to Europe, which has become heavily more reliant on cargoes from global suppliers since Russia throttled pipeline flows to the continent following its invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
The European Union recently adopted a new package of sanctions against Russia including a ban on LNG imports from 2027 — when new projects in Qatar and the US are due to come on stream — to chip away at Moscow’s ability to wage its war against Ukraine.
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