Exclusive: EU could quit Russian gas within a year, US energy chief says [View all]

Source: Reuters

BRUSSELS, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The European Union could phase out Russian gas within six to 12 months by replacing it with U.S. liquefied natural gas, and the United States communicated this position to EU officials this week, U.S. energy secretary Chris Wright told Reuters on Friday.

Wright was speaking in Brussels, where he met EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen on Thursday to discuss ending Europe's purchases of Russian energy. The EU is negotiating legal proposals to phase out imports of Russian oil and gas by January 2028, with a ban on short-term contracts kicking in from next year.

"I think this could easily be done within 12 months, maybe within six months," Wright said, of how quickly the EU could phase out Russian gas.

"I definitely voiced the opinion we could do it faster. On the U.S. side, we could do it faster, and I think it would be good if those dates were moved up even more. I don't know that that's going to happen, but that was dialogued," he said, referring to his meeting with Jorgensen.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/eu-could-quit-russian-gas-within-year-us-energy-chief-says-2025-09-12/