PARIS, July 3. /TASS/. Restrictions on purchasing Russian gas could be revised in Europe amid a relentless surge in energy prices driven by supply disruptions from the Middle East, Jacques Sapir, French economist and director of studies at the Paris-based School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS), told TASS.
According to him, the current spike in natural gas prices on European hubs stems from production bottlenecks rather than logistical challenges.
"The destruction caused by the US and Israeli war against Iran has inflicted severe damage on the export capacity of Qatar, which ranks as the world's top or second-largest LNG exporter. Specifically, the foundations of gas compression units were damaged. Such facilities are highly specialized and have long production lead times. Qatari authorities estimate that repairing the damage will take between three and five years," the economist stated.
Sapir noted that Egypt and Syria -- through whose territories French President Emmanuel Macron suggested building a gas export pipeline to Europe during the G7 summit -- are facing production hurdles due to depleting reserves or chronic underinvestment in infrastructure. Furthermore, even major producers such as the US and Nigeria are incapable of replacing the market volumes previously exported by Qatar, the economist added.
