Page 15 - EurOil Week 15 2022

EurOil COMMENTARY EurOil

with Albania in third place with 84% and Aus- leave a total of 51 bcm of Russian gas imports to
tria, Sweden, Denmark, Portugal and Latvia all cover, which the think-tanks believe can be met
now producing more than half their power from by existing resources.
renewables. “Net imports of fossil gas are projected to
The Ukraine war has accelerated the EU’s reduce by 32 bcm from 2020 levels by 2025 with
plans to wean Europe of Russian gas and set the full implementation of the “Fit for 55” policy
a new ambitious target of being gas free by package (MIX scenario). We find that this can be
2025 without resorting to restarting coal-fired further decreased by 69 bcm through clean and
power stations or using more gas imports from efficiency solutions,” Ember said in its report.
other suppliers, think-tanks Ember, E3G, Bel- Renewable energy sources, predominantly
lona and RAP said at a briefing. They propose wind and solar, are critical to weaning the EU off
accelerating the EU’s “Fit for 55” emission reduc- Russian gas and fossil fuels, according to Ember.
tion plans and investing into more energy effi- The current Fit for 55 target for wind and solar
ciency, heat pumps and similar technology, as capacity by 2025 is 533 GW (229 GW above 2020
well as accelerating plans for more investment levels).
into solar and wind. “We have identified that this can be increased
The proposals follow on from a statement by by 158 GW to 691 GW by 2025. This equates to
the EU that it would reduce demand for Russian 31 bcm of reduced fossil gas demand, 20% of
gas by two thirds before the end of 2022. The new Russian imports. Accelerated solar deployment
briefing described how it could call a total halt is responsible for this substantial gain. Solar
to gas imports by 2025, if there was an “urgent Power Europe has stated that permitting is key
EU-wide commitment” to making the necessary to enabling the necessary huge uptick in solar
changes. The think-tanks, following the lead of installations,” Ember said. “Our scenario also
the IEA earlier in March, drafted a 10-point plan assumes wind capacity hits the target set out in
to end imports of Russian gas by 2025. the “Fit for 55” proposal; however, deployment
If the EU follows through on its plan to reduce is currently lagging, and this must be addressed
Russian gas demand by two thirds, that would by the EU as a matter of urgency.” ™
PIPELINES & TRANSPORT

Poland moots ban on LPG

imports from Russia

POLAND Poland will add LPG to the list of banned energy Polish LPG consumption was 2.34mn tonnes
imports from Russia by the end of the year, Prime in 2020, out of which 530,000 tonnes was domes-
Poland want to end Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on April 14. tic production. Of the remaining 2.04mn tonnes,
Russian commodity Morawiecki thus deflected a question about Russia supplied 65%, or 1.33mn tonnes.
imports by the end of the government-backing majority in the parlia- Other source countries were Sweden, Lithu-
the year. ment rejecting a proposal by the opposition-held ania, Belarus – Russia’s ally, which is also on the
Senate to ban LPG imports right away, together radar for boycotts and government-level sanc-
with coal. tions – and Kazakhstan.
The PM said that preparations must be made The LPG sector in Poland believes that boost-
to implement an LPG import ban and that the ing the utilisation of LPG terminals in Gdansk,
government was working on them as part of the Gdynia, and Szczecin – Poland’s main seaports
wider plan to end imports of Russian energy – should be enough cover for the shortage of
commodities by the end of the year. imports from Russia, although at a higher cost.™

Week 15 15•April•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P15