<div class="WordSection1" dir="RTL">
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><a name="_Hlk101793029"></a><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Europe after Russian gas <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>.. to where? </span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span style="color: #3598db;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN">Prepared by Najat Abdel Qawi Aoun</span></strong></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Master's Researcher, Faculty of Economic Studies and Political Science, Alexandria University</span></strong></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Introduction</span></strong></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Russian gas lines extend like cobwebs to Europe via a network of pipelines that exit Russia and go tothe majority of European countries. The European continent relies on Russian gas supplies mainly for heating, as Russian gas exits the fields to enter European homes directly through pipes.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Europe imports more than 40% of its gas needs from Russia, because Russian gas reaches Europe through pipelines and is considered cheap due to its low cost.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, European countries turned to importing liquefied gas, which is more expensive, in order to fill the deficit in stocks.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">EU countries are seeking to diversify their supplies of European gas, as evidenced by the EU's encouragement of the establishment of the Egypt-based Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum in a bid to reduce dependence on Moscow.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The following map shows the distribution of Russian gas pipelines across the European continent and the countries that reach or pass through them, accordingto data from the Russian company Gazprom.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Simplified Arabic',serif; mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;">&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Are European countries capable of independence from Russian</span></strong></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> gas<strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">?</strong></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Russia's invasion of Ukraine has raised concerns among European countries for Europe's energy security, but the European Commission's climate policy chief announced that the Commission will propose a line to diversify Europe&rsquo;s fossil fuel supply away from Russia, and plans will be drawn up to quickly shift to renewable energy. This is in an effort to secure the energy needs of European countries.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The plans proposed by the European Commission aim to:</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">1- Reducing dependence on Russian gas by increasing imports of gas and liquefied natural gas from other countries.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">2- Start the gradual operation of alternative gases such as biomethane and hydrogen.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">3- Building solar and wind energy projects faster.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">4- Ensure that Europeancountries fill gas stocks before winter to mitigate supply shocks.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Europe could cut its imports of Russian gas by more than half within a year, but doing so would require a series of quick measures, such as replacing gas boilers with heat pumps and increasing imports of liquefied natural gas, the International Energy Agency says.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">European moves to avoid Russian</span></strong></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> supply shocks</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Germany:</span></strong></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> Germany, Russia's biggest buyer of crude oil, has rejected sanctions on Russian energy supplies. Germany has begun to expand renewable energy, and Economy Minister Robert Habeck described the move as a key element in making his country less dependent on Russian fossil fuel supplies.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Germany aims to accelerate the expansion of renewable energy to obtain all its electricity needs from clean and renewable sources by 2035.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Lithuania: Lithuania announced the</span></strong></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> suspension of gas imports from Russia, as Lithuanian Energy Minister Dainius Krevis <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>announced that Lithuania is the first country in the European Union <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>to achieve complete independence from Russian gas supplies, and that all Lithuania's gas needs will come through a liquefied <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>natural gas terminal<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>in the port city of Klaipėda. The natural gas plant is now operational, which Lithuania believes can meet Sweden, Poland and Finland's <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">gas</span> needs<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Since early 2015, Lithuania has been seeking to reduce its dependence on Russian gas imports by building the floating facility, and currently 3 large cargoes of liquefied natural gas are scheduled to arrive at the floating facility every month.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">France:</span></strong></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire stressed that Europe has many solutions to become independent of Russian gas and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>stated that he wants to accelerate work under them to be able to meet the winter challenge of 2022 and 2023, and said that gas prices will be frozen for consumers in France until the end of 2022.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Le Maire mentioned several solutions:</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">1- The need to accelerate gas storage starting from the current summer to store 90% of the needs needed to face the current and next winter.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">2- European countries make mass purchases to obtain reduced prices.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">3- European countries diversify supplies from other producers.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">4- Improving the performance of liquefied natural gas stations, and explained that there are 7 of them in Spain and 4 in France, but none of them in Germany, and pointed out that he discussed with the leaders of the ENGIE group ways to improve the operation of the stations.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">5- Use emergency measures such as shutting down gas-intensive industries.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">6- Le Maire stated that the latter solution is biogas and biomass, which are alternative solutions produced in France that would help to gain independence from Russian gas. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Le Maire explained that the shortage of Russian gas<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>supplies does not have the same effect in all European countries, as France depends for 20% of its supply <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>on Russian gas, while the European average is<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>40%, and some countries are completely dependent on Russian gas, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>such as Finland, which gets its gas supplies 100% from Russia.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">French President Emmanuel Macron announced his country&rsquo;s massive expansion in the construction of nuclear reactors, and said that it is expected to build 6 new nuclear power plants in the eastern Belfort region, in addition to the establishment of 8 other power plants by 2050. He also announced that renewables will be expanded in France.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Spain: Europe seeks to</span></strong></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> free itself from dependence on Russian coal and gas, and Spain leads the old continent to achieve this goal. European countries are aware that Spain can play an important role in supplying Europe with energy, so European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that Europe seeks to achieve a real connection between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of the Union.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Despite the above, reality tells us other facts, the Russian company <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>Gazerum announced that European buyers have increased their orders to buy natural gas <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>from it despite the rise in prices against the backdrop of sanctions imposed on Russia, and the company's spokesman Sergey Kopriyanov told <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>reporters that Gazerum continues to supply Russian gas <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>through Ukrainian territory normally. According to European consumer demands, the above facts deny claims by European countries regarding their ability to become independent from Russian gas at the moment. There are a range of obstacles to the EU's ability to offset the Russian energy market currently.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">What are the alternatives to Russian</span></strong></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> gas <strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">for European countries?</strong></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">With Europe looking for alternatives to Russian</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> gas, <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">and talk of returning to coal and building nuclear power plants, La Tribune newspaper issued a report in which it indicated that these alternatives will negatively affect the climate, deepening the global warming crisis. UN environmental organizations have also pointed to the danger of relying on coal and nuclear power plants.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">There are a set of alternatives proposed to replace Russian</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> gas:</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">1- Liquefied gas</span></strong></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>LNG is one of the proposals that European countries may rely on if Russia cuts off supplies, and although LNG is the cleanest type of fossil fuel, it is a fossil fuel, and contributes to irreversible climate damage. If European countries rely on it despite its shortcomings, it is notavailable enough to meet all Europe's energy needs.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">2- Coal</span></strong></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Coal is the most polluting fossil fuel, responsible for more than 0.3&deg;C from a 1&deg;C increase in average global temperatures, making it the single largest source of global warming, so a return to coal consumption would be catastrophic for the future of the planet. Europe is expected to return to use old coal plants that have been shut down if Russia halts gas supplies.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">3- Renewable energy in Europe</span></strong></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">European leaders view the Russian invasion of Ukraine as an opportunity to accelerate the transition to renewable energy sources, including nuclear plants. Nuclear power represents a clean alternative, as nuclear power generation increased by 6% in 2021 compared to 2020.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The current problem facing European countries is that many nuclear plants have reached the end of their life cycle and are very expensive to rebuild, with an operational life of about 40 years.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">4- Clean hydrogen</span></strong></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Analysts predict that imports of clean hydrogen-based fuels could play a role in solving Europe's energy crisis, while others argue that Europe could be jeopardized by Russia's decades-long energy dependence if it follows a certain path to hydrogen production.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Australia is a potential supplier of hydrogen, with studies suggesting that South Australia'sworld-class renewable energy resources will give it a competitive advantage in the race to supply Europe with clean hydrogen via the Port of Rotterdam.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">There is a group of candidate countries to be an alternative to Russia in supplying the European continent with gas and energy, namely:</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">1. Azerbaijan</span></strong></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Azerbaijani Deputy Energy Minister Nursultanov has previously stated that his country has sufficient reserves of natural gas and can export more of it to Europe.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Azerbaijan currently exports 10 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe, and can export more via the Adriatic Line (TAP), which will have enough capacity totransport Azerbaijani gas to Europe and will allow the construction of infrastructure for complex gas pipelines in Europe.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Several reports indicated Azerbaijan's ability to send more natural gas to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Europe through the development of the third phase of the Shah Deniz reservoirs, and the Absheron region <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>has sufficient reserves, as well as the case for the Shafaq Asiman gas field and the Omid and Babak basins, but in return Europeans should encourage their companies to invest in Azerbaijani gas fields, and European companies should seek to conclude long-term contracts to buy natural gas <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>from Azerbaijan.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">2- Qatar</span></strong></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="AR-EG" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>Qatar is one of the largest gas producers in the world, and it can replace Russia in gas exports, and Qatari Energy Minister Saad Al-Kaabi has already told the European Union's Energy Commissioner Kadri Simpson that his country is ready to help Europe when needed, and the United States of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>America has raised the possibility of Qatar supplying gas to Europeancountries.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Although Qatar has the largest natural gas field in the world, it <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>cannot meet Europe's needs at the moment, because European countries are equipped to receive gas through pipelines whileQatar does not export gas via huge trucks of liquefied gas, meaning that Europeans need special facilities to reconvert gas from liquid to gaseous before it can be used.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Qatar also sends most of its shipments to Asia under long-term contracts that cannot be broken at the moment, and it is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>unwilling to cede its partnership with Asian countries even if doing so would bring political and financial gains to the United States and Europe.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="AR-EG" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Since last December, Qatar has shipped 6 cargoes to northwestern Europe, while the United States has delivered42 cargoes during the same period, quantities that could make a big difference to the European deficit.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">3. United States of America</span></strong></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Over the past months, the number of gas shipments heading from the United States to Europe has increased, with reports indicating that about three-quarters of American liquefied gas went to Europe in January, as a sharp increase in demand led to higher prices and exports.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">As a result of growing European demand for U.S. K gas, in January America became the world&rsquo;s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the first time.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Can European countries replace Russian</span></strong></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> gas <strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">with supplies from Africa?</strong></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Due to the Russian invasion<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>of Ukraine and the repercussions on gas supplies from Russia, European countries are looking for alternative gas <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>suppliers, and the African continent plays an important role in reducing dependence on Russian exports, as some African countries have large gas reserves, but in many cases production and transportation capacities are limited. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>These include Algeria, Nigeria, Egypt and Libya.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">1- Algeria</span></strong></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Since the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Algeria has expressed its readiness to increase exports of natural gas and liquefied natural gas, and Algeria seems to be the ideal destination for the European continent as a liver for Russia by virtue of its geographical location close to Europe, and Algeria is the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>tenth largest gas producer in the world, and it ranks third in the export of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>liquefied natural gas to Europe. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Algeria exports natural gas through three pipelines, one of which was shut down after strained relations with Morocco, which represents an obstacle if Algeria wants to supply Europe withlarge quantities of gas, as the rest of the pipelines cannot meet the needs of Europeans of gas.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">In addition to the above, there are other obstacles, legally Algeria cannot sell all its gas to European countries because of the free trade agreement it <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>concluded with <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>the European Union, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>which prevents it from selling its gas directly, so the European Union must<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>change this law in order to allow Algeria to contribute to the compensation <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>of Russian gas.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">If Algeria manages to overcome all these obstacles, it will not be able to replace Russian gas on its own, as its production is much lower than Russia, and the maximum percentage that Algeria can reach in terms of meeting European demand is 20%.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">2. Nigeria</span></strong></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The Europeans believe that Nigeria can replace Russia in providing gas supplies, as Nigeria's natural gas reserves reached 5.5 trillion cubic meters by the end of 2020, the largest gas reserves in Africa. France, Portugal and Spain are Europe's largest importers of liquefied natural gas from Nigeria. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Nigeria has already begun to build pipelines to Europe to increase its exports, but there are many obstacles, the most important of which is the lack of infrastructure to deliver gas to Europe, and the lack of financial funding to complete this infrastructure.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">In addition to the above, there is a security obstacle, as the route of the gas pipeline programmed between Nigeria and Europepasses through several security hotspots, starting with the Niger River del in southern Nigeria, where several armed groups are active, including the "Niger Delta Avengers" that target gas and oil pipelines in the region, as well as ISIS and Boko Haram in West Africa.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">3- Egypt</span></strong></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Egypt is another destination that European countries can resort to, especially after the large investments that Egypt has allocated in the field of natural gas <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>in <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>recent years, as Egypt has expanded significantly and pumped huge investments in extracting, renovating and increasing the efficiency <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>of natural gas fields, and its reserves reached 200 trillion cubic meters.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Egypt ranks 11th globally among the largest producers of natural gas, and if you can work with your hope, its natural gas production will reach 8 billion cubic feet per day. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">According to a report issued by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries, Egypt recorded the largest year-round growth in LNG exports in East Africa with 1.4 million tons of liquefied natural gas in the second quarter of 2021 compared to the absence of LNG exports in the same period in 2020. LNG is the only gas that Egypt currently exports. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>in the country is not yet connected to a pipeline network with Europe.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Egypt sees China as a reliable resource, so it seeks to preserve it, as China has long-term contracts with Egypt, and Europe must follow China's example with Egyptif it wants to obtain Egyptian gas.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Recently, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly witnessed the signing ceremony of a framework agreement for cooperation in the field of natural gas and its export between the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and the Italian company Eni. This agreement aims to optimize the exploitation of Egyptian gas reserves by maximizing joint production between the two sides, which contributes to increasing exports of liquefied gas shipments from the Damietta gas liquefaction plant to Italy and Europe.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Simplified Arabic',serif; mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;">&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Simplified Arabic',serif; mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;">&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Libya</span></strong></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Europe recently turned to Libya asking it to increase the production and export of natural gas to it, and in response, the Libyan Minister of Oil and Gas announced that Libya does not have sufficient reserves commensurate with any increase in production that would be able to make any difference.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Although Libya has reserves estimated at 1.4 billion cubic meters in 2020, it is politically divided enough to be absent from Germany's list of exporting countries.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Another obstacle is the lack of adequate infrastructure to increase exports.</span></span></p>
</div>
<p dir="ltr"><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-EG" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Simplified Arabic',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-EG;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">From the above, we conclude that African countries have reserves of natural gas <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>that exceed their needs in the local markets, so these countries <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>have a strong desire to increase exports to Europe, but these countries face many legal and security problems, and problems related to infrastructure, as the weakness of infrastructure in the field of oil and energy led to a decrease in oil production in the African continent by 19% in 2019 from the previous year, and these countries find it difficult to attract new investments in the oil production sector, so African countries may not be able <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>to fill the gas and oil gap on the European continent <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>in the medium term. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">In order to overcome these obstacles, African countries must take some advanced steps, such as:</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">1- Effective measures to attract foreign investments in the gas sector.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">2- Enticingthe evil of oil with financial incentives to pump investments.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">3- Facilitating the procedures for carrying out business.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">4- Eliminate corruption, theft of crude oil and bureaucracy in African countries.</span></span><a name="_GoBack"></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">5- Building new infrastructure in the African continent to connect it tightly with the pipelines of the European continent.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk101793029;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">During the Cold War, following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, and also after sanctions were imposed following its invasion of Ukraine, Russia continued to supply gas to Europe.</span></span></p>