“You and I are talking about two different things.”
Wrong again, we’re talking about the EU plans to replace the Russian natural gas supplies with non-Russian supplies in short term, mid-term, and long term time frames.
“I am talking about continuous supply.”
Continuous supplies of natural gas from non-Russian suppliers is precisely what the EU has already been working on since Putin’s Russian regime invaded and conquered parts of Georgia in 2009. Many of the EU member states have been dragging their heels, but the Russian invason and annexation of the Ukraine’s autonomous Republic of the Crimea and further ominousw threats against other neighbor states such as the Balitc states has blasted those stubborn heels loose. Even though these EU states are being relatively quiet about there plans with regard to replacing the Russian supplies, they are working furiously behind the scenes in numerous cases to find full alternatives to those Russian natural gas supplies. They are meeting with the ooil and gas companies in quiet meetings to persuade them about the necessity of risking the loss of their investments in the Russian development projects. In their place are a portfolio of initiatives the general public has not heard about yet, but are a incresed hot topic under discusison within the oil and gas industry.
“You are talking about filling a gap during a short-term block of supply.”
Filling the immediate short term gap is, of course, a vital necessity and steppingstone towards accomplishing any mid-term and long-term objectives. As the articles I cited had to say, the EU was making plans for a continuous supply of natural gas to the EU, Slovakia, the Ukraine, and others.
“Western Europe does not have the natural gas supply to provide for themselves, let alone added supply for others.”
The EU does have its own supplies of natural gas, but they are a net importer because they chose to not pursue domestic alternatives and alternative foreign supplies, because Russia offered what seemed to be less expensive opportunities. Those opportunities are now not such a great deal any longer no matter what discounted prices Russia may offer as an incentive. So, the EU since 2009 and now with greatly renewed urgency is working towards several alternative solutions ranging from the Arctic to North Africa, the Eastern Mediterraean, and the Caspian fields. The United States can also provide some LNG to supplement the other efforts in the not to distant future, especially from Cheniere, whose shares we have owned from time to time.
Europe’s Energy Security: Options and Challenges to Natural Gas Supply Diversification
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R42405.pdf
Since 2009, the EU has worked with Russia to build more natural gas pipeline from Russia to supply Europe with Natural Gas. I see they have been growing not shrinking their supply from Russia.
I am not claiming it is in their best interest, but it appears to be what they are doing.
German Companies Remain Supportive of South Stream Gas Pipe
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/german-companies-remain-supportive-of-south-streamgas-pipe/497576.html
Europe energy: Russian addiction, American seduction
http://www.euronews.com/2014/04/02/europe-energy-russian-addiction-american-seduction/
In 2009, Russia hit Europe where it hurt when it cut the supply flow through Ukraine in a price dispute with Kyiv. European industry and households ran short, and the winter was colder than usual.
Both the EU and Russia are dependent on fixed pipelines for the transit of gas. But now shale gas extraction in the US makes it a potential exporter in liquefied form (known as LNG). Rather than reduce dependence on Russia, Europe developed new plans to go around Ukraine as a transit country.
Russia’s Gazprom is the majority shareholder of Nord Stream, a pipeline through the Baltic Sea; German companies own the next-largest share, then the Dutch and French.
The South Stream system to pipe Russian gas westward through the Black Sea is a Russian, Italian, French and German project (under construction). So is Nabucco, a joint venture by Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria to pipe Central Asian gas.