The European Commission, the EU executive, is offering to buy more American liquefied natural gas (LNG) as part of a potential deal to prevent hefty U.S. tariffs. It’s even considering backing investments in overseas LNG projects as part of a plan to lower energy costs.
In other words, Mouton said, things are changing.
“Three weeks after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, we had a meeting with the [European] Commission and one of the officials said, well, in three to five years time, we won’t need gas any more in Europe. And that was three years ago,” he said, speaking from an expansive office on the outskirts of Brussels, where a team of more than two dozen staffers represents the interests of almost 100 energy firms from across the globe, including U.S. giants Chevron and ExxonMobil.
“So there’s a mindset change some have to do to accept the fact that yes, in the energy transition, we need gas even in the long term,” he added.
Mouton’s companies stand to benefit if Europe gets on board with Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” goals. The EU is certainly trying, dispatching a top energy official, Ditte Juul Jørgensen, to Washington for talks with gas exporters earlier this month.
“The visit of Jørgensen was to establish better relationships to secure our security of supplies,” said Mouton. “That’s very good news. The bad news is, she isn’t the one who signs contracts to buy gas — that’s for the market.”
