Norway has replaced Russia as the continent's largest gas supplier, in a huge transformation that the natural gas market in Europe has witnessed over the past two years.

Before the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Russia supplied the European Union with about 45% of its natural gas needs. Making it the main supplier of energy to the continent.

Europe relied on a vast network of Russian pipelines and companies, led by Gazprom. To meet its energy needs, but the sanctions imposed on Russia due to the war, and the desire to reduce dependence on Russian energy, led to Norway emerging as a major alternative. Its gas exports to Europe increased significantly.

In 2022, Equinor, the giant Norwegian company, supplied the European Union with about 75 billion cubic meters of gas, a record.

In 2023, this number increased to 109 billion cubic meters; Which represents 31% of total gas consumption in Europe.

Although Norway is a close ally of Europe, there are fears that Equinor will replace Gazprom as a new monopoly in the gas market. While Europe has sought to diversify gas sources through agreements with Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other countries, it has not These efforts achieve the desired results.

Norwegian gas is sold at prices 15-20% higher than Russian gas. Which burdens European consumers.