? EU needs 10-15 years to replace Russian gas with African hydrocarbons, energy experts say
Having introduced sweeping sanctions against Russian energy suppliers, the European Union (EU) is trying to curry favour with African hydrocarbon producers to reduce its dependence on Moscow by almost two-thirds this year, Bloomberg reports. The EU sees Western and Northern African states as potential alternative gas suppliers.
"The European Union (EU) is clutching at straws," says Dr Mamdouh G. Salameh, an international oil economist and visiting professor of energy economics at the ESCP Europe Business School in London. "[The bloc's] efforts to diversify its gas needs away from Russia is a painstaking job that will take years to accomplish if ever."
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