BRICS member Russia could experience a rude shock as Europe is actively looking to end reliance on Russian LNG gas. Europe relied heavily on Russian energy and initiated business transactions with the country despite the US sanctions. Even Saudi Arabia took advantage of the US sanctions and laundered Russian oil across Europe for cheaper prices last year.
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Germany and the Czech Republic are the two countries that are urging the European Union (EU) to end dependency on Russian oil. The latest data shows that the EU has paid heed to their calls and is purchasing gas from the US and Norway to meet their needs. The development adds pressure on BRICS member Russia leading to a large reduction in energy and gas orders from Europe.
Europe has almost replaced energy needs from Russia by procuring gas with LNG from the US and Norway. However, Europe still relies on Russian LNG gas and initiates 15% of its overall energy transactions with BRICS member Russia.
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BRICS: Europe Dampening the Alliance’s Idea To Dominate the Oil, Gas, & Energy Sector
BRICS has inducted four new countries into the alliance and all of them are major oil exporting nations. The UAE, Egypt, Iran, and Ethiopia export millions of barrels of oil per year. The BRICS bloc has also invited the global oil player Saudi Arabia to join the alliance but the Kingdom is yet to provide a decision. However, since Saudi Arabia deals with both Europe and BRICS, chances are high that it might decline the invitation.
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The main idea of BRICS was to capture the oil and energy sector dominated by the US and Europe. If Europe is looking to end reliance on Russian energy, then the BRICS alliance remains at a loss. The development gives mileage to the US and Europe and puts BRICS under pressure for business.