It turned out that visa and financial bans are not as effective as expected. So, the Western countries decided to play its trump card. In particular, they intend to hit the Russian energy sector. Speaking at the press conference after the U.S.-EU summit, Barack Obama stressed that America is going to facilitate its shale gas exports so that to provide Europe with the daily gas intake. The U.S. Energy Ministry has already created a special commission in charge of verification of this process.
Thus, the Unites States wants to reduce Europe’s dependence on the Russian gas at the most. By the way, that is not for the first time America convinces the Old World to “come off” the gas from the East. However, there is still no luck as 76% of the gas produced in Russia goes to the West. The Russian gas accounts for one-third of the EU’s total consumption. Europe is unlikely to discard such a huge gas supply unless it finds alternative energy sources. According to Rustam Tankaev, the leading expert at the Russian Union of Oil and Gas Producers, it is possible only if the European energy sector is rebuilt completely. “In fact, Europe will have to find new sources of energy. Today, it is impossible. Moreover, in case nothing is changed in the medium- and long-term, the share of the Russian gas on the European markets will do nothing but grow,” he stated. So, all those statements by the U.S. authorities seem like bluster. Although the Unites States was able to get through the gas deficit in 2012 and now has a small surplus, its reserves are not enough to cover the needs of the European consumers. Nevertheless, experts believe such a transition is strategically and politically important. Assuming that fact, we can guess that the U.S. will do its best to speed up the process.