How long Europe can survive without Russian gas Italy will go bankrupt for 15 days

In Italy, the share of Russian gas imports is about 37 percent. In Germany it is less, about 28 percent. German companies can survive without Russian gas for a week longer than Italy,” analyst Peter Pushcarev said.

The issue was raised for the first time in La Stampa after the fatal explosion at the Austrian gas facility Tuesday, which severely interrupted gas supplies to Europe.

Other countries in Europe are even more dependent on Russian gas than Italy and Germany.

The dependence of Slovenia, Greece and Hungary is at 41-45%. Without Russian gas, they will face a strong energy deficit in about 10 days,” said Pushcarev.

The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are dependent nearly 100 per cent on Russian gas, the analyst added.

The European Union has worked to unite gas pipelines from Europe, Asia and Africa into Trans-European Networks (TEN) to secure gas supplies to the continent, said Ivan Karyakin, Global FX investment analyst.

The same strategy is followed by Russia's Gazprom, which, despite being the traditional supplier of gas pipeline gas to Europe, is developing liquid natural gas facilities (LNG).

Europe is divided on this issue. Russia's EU allies are Austria, Hungary, Germany and opponents are the countries of Northern Europe, the Baltic States and several countries in the south.

If Gazprom implements all pipeline projects, then the pipeline from Russia will take its place in Europe's energy system. Then, it will compete with LNG from the United States and Qatar, and Russian gas has more chances of offering better prices,” said Karyakin for “RT” Transmission Periscope.

That is why the new package of sanctions against Iran, North Korea and Russia includes sanctions against Russian gas supplies to Europe, the analyst stressed. In this case, Iran and North Korea are only a place to undermine Russia's Nord Stream 2 project and other natural gas projects.

“Brussels probably realize that the replacement of the Russian gas pipeline LNG does not increase, but reduces EU energy security. More likely, it will not give up co-operation with Gazprom. But Gazprom will also have to suffer because of US sanctions and pressure. The whole battle is ahead,” said Karyakin.

According to Pushcarev, development of LNG supplies from Qatar and the US is important for Europe, but only to have emergency alternatives like Austria.

Over the past year, the US has increased LNG supplies to Europe. However, it now has only six percent of LNG's European imports, which does not take into account natural gas supply through pipelines.

Royal Dutch Shell and BP have confirmed that Russia will continue to be Europe's main gas supplier at least by 2035. Russian European gas market share rose to 34 per cent last year, according to Gazprom./Periscopi/