Despite rising tensions, Europe to remain Russia’s main gas customer

Tatiana Mitrova, Head of the Oil & Gas Department at the Energy Research Institute in Moscow, joins Hughes Belin to analyse the consequences of troubled EU-Russia relations for energy trade.

Even though Mitrova believes that EU sanctions are “not seriously affecting operations in the Russian gas and oil industry”, she describes the current situation as a “perfect storm.” “All negative factors coincide” and can severely undermine gas trade between Russia and the European Union.

According to Mitrova these factors include: Russia’s decision to shift gas eastward, the newly issued European Energy Union strategy, the failure to resolve the South Stream dispute, as well as the difficult political and geopolitical climate.

This interview recorded at the 2015 Annual Energy Conference organised by the Ifri Center (Institut français des relations internationales) in Brussels was first published at vieuws.eu