Despite the adoption of the Versailles Declaration in March 2022, when leaders of the 27 EU member states pledged to phase out the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels as soon as possible, imports of Russian LNG increased by 12% in 2022 compared to 2021.

According to the EU-US announcement, EU commission aims to increase annual demand for American LNG by 50BCM by the end of 2030 and procure 15BCM more in 2022,

Brent had fallen 33 cents, or 0.4%, to $83.70 a barrel, WTI slipped 20 cents, or 0.3%, to $78.19.

Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi.

The two icebreakers, with a power capacity of 60 MWe each, are scheduled to be completed in 2028 and 2030.

WTI slipped by 54 cents, or 0.72%, to $74.58 a barrel, Brent fell by 50 cents, or 0.62%, to $79.60.

LNG deliveries to Europe have helped ease an energy crisis this winter after Russian piped supply slumped.

Norway has pledged to do as much as it can to boost gas deliveries to Europe to help counter record high gas prices triggered by the war in Ukraine and much lower Russian supplies.

Brent were up $1.49, or 1.9%, at $80.06 a barrel, WTI rose $1.43, or 1.9%, to $75.20.

The discussion covered issues related to further expanding economic ties, primarily in energy, with the priority being strategically significant projects like the creation of a regional natural gas hub in Turkiye and the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant.