Oil industry: Nord Stream 2 isn’t as ‘relevant’ to Russia if Putin invades Ukraine
Energy expert says Russia will gain market access through Ukraine
Nord Stream 2 'isn't as relevant to Russia' if Putin invades: Oil industry expert
American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers says Russia can gain access to Ukraine's pipeline infrastructure, entering the EU energy markets.
American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers told FOX Business on Wednesday that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline delay won’t be as detrimental to Russia as some politicians and world leaders may think.
"Nord Stream 2 isn't as relevant to Russia if they seize all of those assets in Ukraine because they will have access then to all of the pipelines that run through Ukraine," Sommers said during an interview with Edward Lawrence.
While the 764-mile undersea pipeline is complete but not operating, Germany announced Tuesday it would halt its certification in response to Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine. But Sommers warned that this course of action could have little to no effect if Russia decides to fully invade.
"Nord Stream 2 is less of an issue once they invade Ukraine, and that should be very concerning to the European Union because they're dependent on Russia for their energy security, and really the world, because the world depends on natural gas," Sommers explained.
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Sommers claimed Ukrainian-owned and operated pipelines are a "key source" of energy for the European continent, and a Russian invasion would give Vladimir Putin access to European markets through Ukraine.
"Once you have access to all that pipeline infrastructure in the country of Ukraine, [Nord Stream 1, Nord Stream 2] pipelines become less relevant," the oil industry insider explained.
He believes the European Union decided that "they no longer wanted to be an energy leader" the moment it started subcontracting their energy security to Russia.
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"We [the U.S.] don't want to be in that same position that Europe has put itself in," Sommers pointed out, "which is to be dependent on a hostile neighbor to their east for their energy supplies."
The quickest solution, he believes, is to put more oil supply on the market.
"The price of oil isn't just based on what happens in Russia or in the United States," Somers said. "Supply is the key here, and we need to be putting more supply on the market as quickly as possible so that Russia is not the world energy leader."
He went on to say that natural gas is a "resource that we have here" in the U.S. and should take advantage of.
"Before the pandemic hit, the United States was the world's largest oil producer. We continue to be today, but we're about 1.6 million barrels off where we were prior to the pandemic… And that should be concerning to every American because this is a resource that we have here," he explained.
Sommers believes President Biden and his energy policies are culpable for mounting concerns surrounding energy security.
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"The regulatory environment here in the United States has only gotten worse over the course of the last year. In fact, just this weekend, the Biden administration put in place a moratorium on new leasing on both federal lands and in federal waters," dealing a blow to domestic sourcing, Sommers said. "And all that is going to do is put a damper on American production going forward."