Denmark seeks break from Russian gas dependency: press
Denmark's major parliamentary parties have committed to weaning the country off of Russian gas "as soon as possible", Reuters reported on March 6.
The governing Social Democrats sought a consensus on energy independence with the Socialist's People Party, as well as the Radical Left and the Conservatives.
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Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen referred to the decision in a press conference held the previous day. The press gathering also touched on Copenhagen's plan to ramp up defence spending, targeting a 2% share of the NATO member's GDP to defence by 2033.
"Historic times call for historic decisions," Frederiksen told the press briefing, adding it was the largest Danish defence investment in recent times.
Frederiksen was unable to say exactly when Denmark would stop needing Russian gas supplies. The country's proven hydrocarbon reserves in the North Sea included 28bn m3 of gas in 2020, according to BP's Statistical Review of World Energy.
Denmark is expected to also gain additional gas flows through the 10bn m³ Baltic Pipe, which is set to launch in two stages from October this year. Baltic Pipe will deliver Norwegian gas mainly to Polish customers but will also pump gas through multiple extensions to Denmark's distribution grid, connecting the Danish west coast to southeastern Zealand.
The country's proximity to Germany also makes LNG imports a possibility via the 8bn m³ LNG import terminal due to be built close to the North Sea shore in Brunsbuttel. Denmark's natural gas consumption reached a 15-year low of 2.3bn m3 in 2020, down from 5.3bn m3 at their peak in 2006, according to Statistica.