What options do European countries have if they completely ban Russian oil and gas imports? Explained

US President Joe Biden has now announced that the US would ban the import of Russian oil and gas, targeting the main artery of Russia's economy, in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Biden has however clarified that though he made the decision in consultation with European allies, the latter may not be in a position to join the US in banning Russian energy imports.

Europe depends on Russia for about 40% of its natural gas, with most transported by pipeline.

Now, in the instance that other European countries completely put a ban on the Russian Oil and Gas, what are the other sources from which it can procure energy?

Germany, Europe's biggest consumer of Russian gas which has halted certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia because of the Ukraine crisis, could import gas from Britain, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands via pipelines. Southern Europe can receive Azeri gas via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline to Italy and the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) through Turkey.

The United States, which exports shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG), has also sought to help Europe by asking LNG producers at home and abroad to ramp up supplies.

But countries like Qatar and Japan which have lately emerged as the alternate source of LNG suppliers have said that Russian crude could not be replaced immediately even as global discussions gathered pace about the possibility of cutting Moscow's oil from markets. Qatar, which is one of the world's top LNG producers, had in fact said that no single country can replace Russian supplies to Europe, with most volumes tied to long-term supply contracts, said a Reuters report.

However, several nations could seek to fill the shortage in energy supplies by turning to electricity imports or by boosting power generation from other sources viz renewables, hydropower, coal or nuclear.

With Reuters Inputs