Norway not concerned that joint purchase of gas from the EU will create a cartel

By Nora Buli

OSLO, Mar 10 (Reuters) – Noruega, el mayor proveedor de gas natural de Europa, no teme que el plan de la Unión Europea para comprar gas conjuntamente en los mercados mundiales cree une cartel de compradores, el viernes declaró su ministro de Petroleo y Energy.

After speaking to European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic in Oslo on issues such as the EU procurement plan, Norwegian Minister Terje Aasland told reporters that the platform would facilitate “the negotiations on a commercial basis” and could benefit Norwegian energy. companies.

The commissioner, who elaborated on how the joint purchase works, added that the platform could help connect companies like Norway’s state-owned Equinor to smaller industries in need of a stable gas supply.

Earlier this month, 22 of the 27 EU member states expressed preliminary interest in adding more than 17 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas demand over the next three years, Sefcovic previously said.

Ukraine will also participate with a view to buying 2 billion cubic meters before next winter, EU energy policy chief Kadri Simson said on Thursday.

The instrument is designed as a temporary response to the lack of energy created by the loss of Russian gas supplies, but Aasland said it could be adapted for hydrogen, for example.

In the conversations of the Viennese in Oslo también there is a debate on the Papel de Noruega as a reliable proof of the European mercado, since the country will replace Russia as mayor suministrador de gas de Europa en los meses posteriores a la invasion de Ucrania por Moscú initiated in February Last year.

(Reporting by Nora Buli; editing by Barbara Lewis; editing in Spanish by José Muñoz)