White House

Biden and Europeans to announce major plan to redirect gas to Europe

Biden, in Brussels on Friday, plans to join European leaders in announcing an effort to ship liquefied natural gas to Europe and impose new sanctions on Russia

By Tyler Pager, Ashley Parker, John Hudson and Jeff Stein
Yesterday at 7:29 p.m. EDT | Updated yesterday at 9:37 p.m. EDT

BRUSSELS — President Biden and European leaders are expected to announce a major initiative to direct shipments of liquefied natural gas to Europe during his visit to Brussels this week, part of a broader effort to help reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy, according to three U.S. officials familiar with the plan. ... The announcement, a dramatic effort to deprive Russia of leverage as it continues to batter Ukraine, would mark an unusual move to reorder the world’s energy flow — a shift that could have an impact long after the war is over. It comes as European officials have asked the United States to do more to help them cut their reliance on Russia for oil and natural gas.

Biden is also expected to use his stop in Brussels on Thursday and Friday — where he is meeting with NATO, the Group of Seven and the European Council — to announce additional sanctions against Moscow, as well as a crackdown on evasions of the current sanctions.

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America and its European allies could offer financing options to encourage private investors to accelerate the building of more “liquefaction” plants in the U.S. that would then export more LNG, experts said. ... “They’re very expensive and they’re very energy-intensive,” said Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group, a consulting firm. “You don’t throw those things up like a soda stand. You have to know what you’re doing. The U.S. and Europe could subsidize the capital cost to help get it done faster.”

Energy experts have also discussed whether some of the LNG currently being shipped to Asia could be directed to Europe instead — a potential solution with the downside that Asian countries may then turn to reviving their coal plants, in a potential blow for global emissions targets. ... “There’s an immediate need to make sure in coming winters Europe can keep the lights and heat on without as much Russian gas or none at all, and that can’t be done with renewables alone,” said Jason Bordoff, founder and director of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. “Europe does need to make sure it’s investing in infrastructure to diversify its natural gas supplies, and there’s steps the U.S. can take to facilitate that, particularly for the lower-income countries in Europe.”

Hannah Knowles, Emily Rauhala and Juliet Eilperin contributed to this report.