Europe Will Face Gas Deficit, Says Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak

“Europe will inevitably face a gas deficit in 2022, as EU countries have already reduced consumption by 40-50 billion cubic meters due to a decline in the production of fertilizers, metallurgy, and gas chemistry,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview with TASS.

“The EU's decision to set an upper limit on gas prices and other sanctions itself provokes a deep and long-term crisis, destabilizing the region,” he added.

According to him, the recent decision to impose a price cap on gas once again demonstrates that the Western partners are not driven by sound economic calculations but are merely flirting with their voters. They are obtaining immediate, but exclusively political, rather than economic, benefits. In terms of long-term prospects, such decisions incite a deep long-term crisis and destabilization in Europe,” he noted.

He remarked that the increase in gas production in Norway and the United Kingdom will be short-lived, as resources there are very limited, and that growth will not be sustainable. If there’s an increase in consumption in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe will also inevitably face a deficit,” Novak added.