BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 8. Kazakhstan will be in demand among the EU countries as an alternative supplier of oil and gas, Head of EU Delegation to Kazakhstan Kestutis Jankauskas told Trend.
Jankauskas noted that the European Commission recently presented the REPowerEU Plan, which is a response to the hardships and global energy market disruption caused by situation in Ukraine.
“There is a double urgency to transform Europe's energy system: ending the EU's dependence on Russian fossil fuels, which are used as an economic and political weapon, and tackling the climate crisis. The measures in the REPowerEU Plan can respond to this ambition, through energy savings, diversification of energy supplies, and accelerated roll-out of renewable energy to replace fossil fuels in homes, industry and power generation," he explained.
"We count on Kazakhstan to continue close cooperation in diversifying energy supplies, sustainable mining, developing renewable energy and green hydrogen economy, and improving connectivity, including via the Middle Corridor, to the mutual benefit of Kazakhstan and the EU,” he said.
He also noted that the EU is interested in diversifying energy supplies, phasing out coal, and developing new sustainable energy supply sources such as green hydrogen.
“Kazakhstan is a part of this global effort. Kazakhstan already is a major energy supplier to the EU and contributes towards the diversification of supply sources for the EU markets. Over 70 percent of its oil exports are going to the EU (6 percent of EU oil demand). Kazakhstan is also an important supplier of fuel for some of Europe’s N-plants,” he said.
Jankauskas added that while the Russian oil and gas will be phased-out from the EU market, there will be more demand for alternative suppliers, and Kazakhstan is definitely among them.
“While hydrocarbons may play an important transitional role in the energy mix, the real future belongs to renewable energy sources, where Kazakhstan has also a lot to offer. Some projects to harness wind and solar power are already underway with leading European producers. We are also interested in cooperation on green hydrogen, as well as materials that are necessary for the green economy,” he said.