US President Joe Biden’s idea to introduce a moratorium on new contracts for the supply of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) is undoubtedly beneficial for the Russian Federation. This opinion was expressed by Frantisek Novak, a columnist for the Czech publication Hrot24.
“US President Joe Biden’s decision to suspend until after the November elections the approval of new projects to build export terminals to receive liquefied natural gas LNG has caused panic on the other side of the Atlantic,” the journalist said.
According to the Hrot24 columnist, the panic of Washington’s European allies is linked to “concerns” about whether the United States can be trusted to deliver the necessary long-term supply of liquid fossil fuels to Europe, which is investing heavily in new terminals to process them.
The author of the article believes that Joe Biden’s move is motivated by a desire to appease “left-wing Democratic voters.” According to the columnist, they are referring to a recent study that LNG exports from America to Europe are worse than burning coal in European power plants in terms of total greenhouse gas emissions (including methane leaks).
“Without long-term growth in LNG supplies, global gas prices could start to rise at the end of the decade, which is not good news for countries that have relied on the resource, such as Germany or the Czech Republic. And in the end it may benefit Russia, which is trying to increase the production of liquefied natural gas,” Frantisek Novak summarised.
Earlier, Foreign Policy magazine mentioned that US President Joe Biden’s decision to temporarily suspend the conclusion of new contracts for the export of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) did Moscow a favour and frightened Washington’s allies.