The Voice of Russia: Europe can't get rid of Gazprom
Since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine, a number of politicians from the European Union and the United States has called on European countries to stop buying Russian natural gas, find alternative sources of import s and make the Russian budget "starve". However, a quick reality check shows that Europe can't get rid of its dependence on Gazprom without breaking its own economy.
Those who believe that Russia can be kicked out of the European energy market, usually claim that several other countries can act as substitute importers. The "usual suspects" are Norway, Netherlands, Iran and Qatar. Barack Obama promised to save Europe from its dependence on Gazprom with deliveries of LNG, but those promises are nothing more than hot air and should not be treated seriously.
Norway is the primary supplier of natural gas to the European market so, it may seem as a natural candidate to substitute Gazprom. However, the country's minister of energy Tord Andre Lien told Handelsblatt that Norway will be unable to supply more natural gas to the EU because its export capacities are tapped out and won't be increased significantly in the foreseeable future.