Neither Qatar nor any other single country has the capacity to replace Russian gas supplies to Europe with liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the event of disruption due to a conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Qatar's energy minister said on Tuesday.
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Tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalated on Tuesday after Moscow ordered troops into two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.
"Russia [provides] I think 30-40% of the supply to Europe. There is no single country that can replace that kind of volume, there isn't the capacity to do that from LNG," minister Saad al-Kaabi told reporters at a gas conference in Doha.
"Most of the LNG are tied to long-term contracts and destinations that are very clear. So, to replace that sum of volume that quickly is almost impossible," he said.
Qatar, one of the world's top LNG producers, has recently been approached by the United States to reroute gas supplies to Europe in case Russia attacks Ukraine and the United States imposes sanctions on Moscow.
