Europe Less Dependent On Russian Natural Gas Than Previously Thought

"Europe has been reluctant to impose punitive sanctions on Russia. And when it did start clamping down on Russia’s energy industry late last month, the sanctions were carefully drafted to block the export of technology or equipment that might aid new oil projects in Russia, while not interfering with Russian gas, which Europe supposedly cannot live without. But the indicators so far are that these fears may be exaggerated and that it is executives at Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled gas export monopoly, who have reason to be uneasy....There are signs that Russia’s influence over European energy markets is weakening rather than growing stronger." Stanley Reed in The New York Times