It’s not overstating to say that a country’s level of success is largely dictated by its ability to produce or buy abundant affordable energy. It impacts everything from national security to the economy. Today, we head to Europe to hear how U.S. energy companies are benefiting after the Russia-Ukraine war reset the energy dynamic in Europe.
The following is a transcript of a report from “Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson.”
Watch the video by clicking the link at the end of the page.
On our visit to Poland’s capital of Warsaw, we learned the country is accelerating its push become more energy independent.
Julia Cwiek is an expert in energy transition at Poland’s largest energy company, state-owned Orlen.
Sharyl: To be clear, does Poland have any oil wells or natural gas of its own?
Julia Cwiek: Yeah, we have some, but it’s just like a tiny bit of, of our needs. Europe is not very wealthy in the fields, in the oil and gas fields.
Russia, on the other hand, is rich in energy. The world’s second largest producer and exporter of natural gas, which is critical for heating and cooling, and to generate electricity.
Before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022:
Austria and Latvia relied on Russia for more than 80% of their gas supply.
Germany was Russia’s largest gas customer, then Italy.
Other large importers of Russian gas in Europe included the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.
All told, in 2021, Russia supplied 45% of the European Union’s natural gas.
Sharyl: How would you describe what has changed in Europe since Russia invaded Ukraine when we’re talking about energy?
Cwiek: I think the invasion of Russia on Ukraine changed quite a lot. At first, Europe fought very much about the green transition only because it was like a top priority to change the system, to be more eco-friendly for people to be better for the environment. But I’m afraid that we forgot a bit about the energy security as a very important issue in the whole energy system resilience. And when the invasion started, we saw this hydrocarbon supply routes being changed a lot. The supply stopped coming from Russia. They, they just stopped and we had to find alternatives.
Sharyl: What role is the U.S. playing in this whole dynamic?
Cwiek: I would say a huge role. The crisis didn’t hit that much Poland when in 2022, when the war started, when the invasion started. Basically we had long-term contracts for LNG with U.S. suppliers.
LNG is Liquified Natural Gas, delivered to Poland from the U.S. in a steady stream of ships.
Cwiek: It accounted for around 40% of the supply of natural gas to Poland. So it was huge. And those long-term contracts enabled us to avoid a very huge economic and security issue back then. So, we were very fortunate that we thought about it and we had this reliable partner.
Still, the disruption in energy supply from Russia sent Europe into an economic crisis with shortages and skyrocketing prices.
Piotr Naimski has served in the Polish government in charge of energy issues.
Sharyl: How difficult was it to have the surprise of the cutoff of Russian energy fairly in a fairly short period of time in this, in this time when Russia invaded Ukraine?
Piotr Naimski: It was a real economic shock because prices of gas really were very high.
He says as a result, the EU adjusted its energy priorities.
Naimski: After half a year or something like that, created or provoked series of decisions in Germany, in France, in other countries toward decisions toward diversification of this supplies.
Sharyl: So to state the obvious, it’s a better situation?
Naimski: So this is good result. This is good for Western Europe, for sure, for some central European countries as well. This aftershock you know, after this invasion, Russian invasion, Ukraine, created I mean proper results, I would say.
The big winner in the equation is the United States. In 2023, the U.S. became the largest supplier of liquefied natural gas to Europe, providing nearly half of the total imports.
Cwiek: We just for a couple of years focused more on the green transition and didn’t think that much about the energy security. But then it changed. And now I think the energy security issues were elevated very high on the agenda of the politicians in the EU. And now it’s, it’s more levelized, I would say. So that’s a very positive thing.
Sharyl (on-camera): Another bonus for U.S. companies: As part of its move toward more energy independence, U.S. Westinghouse Nuclear will build Poland’s first nuclear power plant. Construction could start in 2028.
Watch video here.
