Head of International Energy Agency: opportunities of Europe to find a gas supplier that can replace Russia are limited

The opportunities of Europe to organize supplies of natural gas from other countries, except Russia, are limited, despite tensions over the situation in the Ukraine, head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Maria van der Hoeven stated, The Wall Street Journal writes.

"In the short term, Europe has very, very few resources to diversify their gas imports," - the head of the IEA said to journalists at the energy conference Offshore Northern Seas, which takes place in Norway. - "As far as we can foresee, Russian gas will be needed in Europe".

Maria van der Hoeven recalled that Russia supplies about a third of the total volume of the gas import to Europe, while Norway exports to Europe about 20% of the gas, purchased by the EU. Other key resources include import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and such manufacturers as the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. "If you want to change this situation and to diversify the supplies, it will take time. It can not be done overnight,"- she said.