UK to strike deal with US to buy LNG: Reports
The United Kingdom decides to buy gas from the United States, covering only a fraction of Europe’s energy demand.
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An LNG tanker is guided by tug boats at the Cheniere Sabine Pass LNG export unit in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, US.
The United Kingdom plans to sign a deal with the United States to acquire liquefied natural gas (LNG), with up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas on the table within the next year, as per a report by The Telegraph.
The report added that UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak may announce the large gas deal with the US during the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), which will run until November 18, as talks on "energy security partnership" are nearing completion.
The exact volume of supplies is still being discussed, and the total price of the contract will most likely not be released publicly, according to the report.
The talks on LNG acquisition began under former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, who directly negotiated the terms of the agreement with US President Joe Biden.
In further detail, the UK government planned to announce the arrangement on October 21 but had to postpone it due to Truss's resignation, as per Downing Street insiders cited in the report.
The report stressed that the US-UK agreement will be considerably broader than just a gas contract, and will include a program to promote renewable energy sources as well as agreements to collaborate on future nuclear power projects.
Three-hour power outage plan
In October, the United Kingdom's energy operator, National Grid, announced an emergency plan that called for three-hour power outages across the country in the case of a harsh winter and a disruption in the Russian gas supply.
On its account, the UK energy regulator Ofgem reported that Britain is experiencing a gas shortage as a result of the prolonged energy crisis, and some gas-fired power stations may even go bankrupt as a result.
This comes just days after the Kremlin stated that explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines were "directed and coordinated" by Britain. "There is evidence that Britain is involved in sabotage, in a terrorist attack on vital energy infrastructure, not Russian, but international," Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
London has denied the charges.
It is worth noting Western countries and their allies have been suffering a severe energy crisis and battling to replenish their gas supplies in time for the heating season in the aftermath of placing sanctions on Russia.
The draconian sanctions against Russia and the war in Ukraine have caused considerable disruptions in supply lines and a jump in global energy prices. The growing cost of living in the United Kingdom has impacted millions of households.
