Europe is dependent on gas – and is trading one energy risk for another. Booming American supplies now account for about half of the region's LNG imports.
If gas delivered via pipelines is also taken into account, the USA is the bloc's second-largest gas supplier after its neighbor Norway. Europe's declining dependence on Russian gas began even before Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The US has captured a significant share of European gas supplies, dwarfing the remaining Russian supplies. To source the fuel crucial to heating Europe's homes, generating electricity and powering industry, energy traders now have to factor in events thousands of miles away.