Europe scrambles to reduce reliance on Russian natural gas

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe is scrambling to reduce its dependence on Russia for energy and bracing for potential disruption to critical natural gas supplies as Russia's war in Ukraine sends prices to new highs.

Natural gas prices hit a record Thursday for a second day in a row as restrictions on oil and gas were increasingly treated as a possibility on the eighth day of the war — whether through Western sanctions or Russian retaliation. That could mean even more pain to people's wallets: Energy prices have been high for months because of low supplies, driving up the cost of everything from utility bills to groceries as businesses pass along their costs to customers.

Traders were “factoring in the rising probability of sanctions on gas for each day the offensive continues,” said Kaushal Ramesh, senior analyst at Rystad Energy.

The price of gas is 10 times what it was at the start of 2021. But it continues to flow through the major pipelines from Russia to Europe, including those through Ukraine, pipeline companies say.

To prepare for any cutoffs as the war intensifies and to reduce Russian reliance, countries are rounding up new supplies of liquefied natural gas — LNG — by ship. They're also speeding up plans for gas import terminals and pipelines that don't depend on Russia and talking about allowing coal-fired power plants to keep spewing climate-changing emissions for longer if it means energy independence.

Yet many of the measures will take months or, in the case of new pipelines and terminals, years. The long-term answer is rapidly building out renewable sources such as wind and solar. But for now, Europe is reliant on gas to heat homes, generate electricity and supply industries like fertilizer producers.

Europe, which gets almost 40% of its gas from...