Russia-Ukraine War Reinforces LNG’s Role In Global Energy Security

Russia-Ukraine War Reinforces LNG’s Role In Global Energy Security

23 February 2022, Netherlands, Rotterdam: Ships sail into the port of Rotterdam ahead of tanks ... [+] Photo: Federico Gambarini/dpa (Photo by Federico Gambarini/picture alliance via Getty Images) As Europe scrambles to replace the gas coming from Russia, the U. S. is taking on a new role as the world's largest producer of liquefied natural gas. For the Biden administration, it has also meant that climate change concerns have to be balanced with energy security issues and the global desire for a stable market environment. The issue of a stable market is most visible in prices for liquefied natural gas, or LNG, have fluctuated wildly in the last six months. This is especially true in Europe since the beginning of 2022: European gas futures hit 20 times their U. S. price in early March, as the race has intensified to replace Russian gas. Yet the sharp increase in European demand for LNG, while related to concerns about Russia, reveals problems in the Europe's gas supply that existed even before the war. European natural gas prices were perpetually in the news last summer, driven by both a post-pandemic (round one, at least) spike in demand and some reductions in supply. At