Austria eyes renewables, African gas to cut US LNG dependence, junior minister says

By America Hernandez

PARIS, Feb 18 - Austria is seeking to expand renewable energy and increase gas imports from Africa to avoid becoming overly dependent on U.S. liquefied natural gas as Europe reshapes its energy supply, the country's junior energy minister told Reuters on Wednesday.

European countries are wrestling with how to keep electricity prices affordable as the European Union phases out Russian gas by 2027 in response to Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Many governments fear replacing one dependency with another under U.S. President Donald Trump.

"The U.S. is not predictable in these times, so for Austria we are really looking closely to ensure we have LNG from different sources," said Elisabeth Zehetner, Austria's state secretary for energy.

Zehetner is among ministers from 38 OECD countries meeting in Paris to discuss energy security at an International Energy Agency gathering.

LIVING WITH DEPENDENCIES

"Since the beginning of last year, we do not import any Russian gas, but we face now the same topic with LNG. And if more than 40% of Europe's LNG imports are coming only from the U.S., we have to ask ourselves if we have not exchanged one dependency for another," she added.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Tuesday criticised the IEA's focus on renewables and climate policy, urging Europe to purchase more U.S. LNG at what he said would be low prices.

But Zehetner said most ministers at Wednesday's first session reaffirmed their commitment to expanding renewable power because it was domestic and low cost to generate, while noting that natural gas remained essential for stable supply.

"Domestic generation is more reliable than any kind of imports ... but we know we will still be dependent on gas for many decades to come. The question is how we live with these dependencies," Zehetner said.

Austria hopes to increase gas imports from Africa via the Transmed pipeline that lands in Italy, she said, and from Romania's Neptun Deep field in the Black Sea, developed by Austrian firm OMV OMVV.VI, which starts producing next year. Austria already imports from Norway, the U.S. and Qatar.

Asked about a potential return to Russian gas, Zehetner said Austria would prefer to buy renewable energy from Ukraine — but added that if there was a peace deal acceptable to Kyiv, some Russian gas could again be considered.

"Concerning the role of Russia ... we have learned our lesson, so we do not want to be dependent on anyone," she said.

A spokesperson for the state secretary said later on Wednesday that Austria was not interested in returning to Russian gas supplies, and complied with EU rules to phase out Russian imports.

"In a hypothetical post-war scenario — contingent on a peace agreement accepted by Kyiv — Europe might reassess the overall geopolitical and energy framework," the spokesperson said.