Hungary and Czech Republic call on USA to export gas to central Europe

The USA is now in a position to export gas and US officials need look no farther than Central Europe to find some of its most passionate allies, energy ambassador for CR Vaclav Bartuska and his Hungarian colleague Anita Orban say in an article for newspaper The Washington Post.

Both ambassadors in a joint article point at the fact that thanks to a recent sharp development in shale gas exploration, energy has become one of the strongest engines for the US economy.

“This surplus creates opportunities for the United States to again be a geopolitical player in Europe,” the two ambassadors write.

“Our countries’ commitment to the transatlantic relationship is unwavering. But we remain vulnerable to energy diplomacy because of our overwhelming reliance on Russian gas and oil,” they add.

Despite the efforts to modernize the inherited energy-transmission systems and diversify energy sources, the monopolistic position of Russian Gazprom in supplying most of the countries makes gas prices for millions in the region many times higher than in the United States, the ambassadors say, recalling the gas crises of 2006 and 2009.

US companies seeking to export gas to countries that do not have free-trade agreements with the United States are subject to lengthy bureaucratic procedures. Almost two dozen export license applications are pending; only a few have been granted in the past three years.

“This regulatory obstacle is the main bottleneck to increased US gas trade with NATO members and Japan,” says the article.

US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz pledged this summer to make decisions on additional export licenses by the end of the year. Meanwhile, several members of Congress have taken the lead in advocating measures that would help to expedite liquefied natural gas exports to US allies.

Congress, working with the Administration, can help US companies gain new business opportunities while also helping the United States and its allies diversify their energy sources. This would create a win-win situation, the article reads.

“By making strategic choices, the United States could demonstrate, once again, that it considers the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland close allies and start a new, even closer, chapter in bilateral relations,” says the article.

Source: praguemonitor.com