The BRICS alliance has surpassed the US in gas trade to Europe for the first time in almost two years. BRICS member Russia is the top supplier of LNG gas to Europe and outperformed the US despite facing sanctions. The spike comes despite Europe trying to limit its dependency on Russian oil but several countries in the eastern European region rely heavily on imports from the country. This makes Russia the top supplier of LNG gas supplier to Europe elbowing the US in global trade deals.
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The development comes when BRICS is looking to topple the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency. The bloc aims to control the global oil and gas sector to bring the US dollar down. Read here to know how many sectors in the US will be affected if BRICS ditches the dollar for trade.
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BRICS: Russia Beats the US in Gas Trade to Europe Despite Facing Sanctions
BRICS member Russia has been initiating gas trade deals with Europe and other countries despite facing sanctions from the US. The Putin administration has bypassed sanctions and conducted deals with Europe, Africa, Asia, and its BRICS counterparts. LNG shipments from Russia to Europe touched a high of 15% this month in May 2024. On the other hand, the US-based LNG gas to Europe dipped to 14% this month.
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“It’s striking to see the market share of Russian gas and (liquefied natural gas) inch higher in Europe after all we have been through, and all the efforts made to decouple and de-risk energy supply,” said Tom Marzec-Manser, the Head of Gas Analytics at Consultancy ICIS to the Financial Times.
The US was the top supplier of LNG gas to Europe after the White House pressed sanctions against BRICS member Russia. However, Marzec-Manser explained that Russia’s dominancy in the LNG gas sector in Europe might not last long. “Russia has limited flexibility to hold on to this share (in Europe) as demand rises into next winter. Whereas overall US LNG production is only growing with yet more new capacity coming to the global market by the end of the year,” he summed it up.
