The Energy Crisis and Its Consequences for the EU Natural Gas Market

The article is aimed at studying the main causes of the energy crisis in the EU and its impact on the transformation of the natural gas market in Europe. The main reasons that led to the crisis in the EU energy sector are allocated: the spread of ESG policies in industrialized countries; the coronavirus pandemic and measures taken by national governments to counter its spread; EU policy on the development of renewable energy sources; high degree of dependence on energy imports from Russia and the energy policy of the latter; war in Ukraine. The energy crisis resulted in a significant increase in prices for natural gas and electricity and led to a decrease in business activity in the economy of the European Union, especially in energy-intensive industries. The crisis phenomena contributed to the transformation of the EU natural gas market, which in practice resulted in the development of alternative ways of natural gas supply. If before the 2021 crisis, Russia had a monopoly position in the supply of natural gas to the EU, then the development of alternatives led to an increase in the share of supplies from the United States, Norway, Africa, the Middle East, and Azerbaijan. The analysis of investment activities in the energy sector of these countries, as well as the initiatives of national governments, indicates the active development of projects for the production of natural gas, oil, and the construction of infrastructure for processing, storage and transportation of natural gas to end consumers in the EU. The carried out analysis shows that EU countries are actively building gas pipelines that allow gas supplies from Norway, Azerbaijan, North Africa, and infrastructure for receiving liquefied natural gas. An important consequence of the energy crisis is the construction of gas pipelines that allow gas to be transported from the north to the south of the EU as opposed to the traditional east-west route, which significantly increases the flexibility and adaptability of the EU gas market in modern conditions.