Portugal plans to boost LNG purchases from Nigeria, US, aiming to reduce reliance on dwindling Russian supplies.
According to a Reuters report, Portuguese Environment Minister Maria da Graca Carvalho stated that the decision was made in response to sanctions on Russian oil and gas imports via pipelines.
“Portugal is now practically independent of Russian gas … but we want to reduce this figure further by importing more gas from Nigeria and the United States,” Graca Carvalho told a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, according to economic website ECO.
In 2024, Portugal imported 49,141 gigawatt-hours of natural gas, with approximately 96 percent of it being Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), according to data from electricity and gas grid operator REN.
In 2024, Nigeria accounted for 51 per cent of Portugal’s LNG deliveries, while about 40 per cent came from the United States, and 4.4 percent from Russia. In comparison, Russia supplied 15 per cent of Portugal’s LNG in 2021.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the West and the United States imposed targeted sanctions on Russian oil and gas imported via pipelines but did not restrict the import of LNG transported by ship into Europe.
US President Donald Trump has threatened the European Union with tariffs unless countries increase their purchases of U.S. energy.
ECO reported that the Portuguese minister called for greater cooperation within the 27-nation EU to ensure energy independence and security, noting that Iberia remains an “energy island” due to difficulties in building interconnections with France.
A report by SB Morgen Intelligence suggests that US President Donald Trump’s energy policy could pose a threat to Nigeria’s fiscal sustainability, as the country relies on oil for approximately 90 percent of its revenue.
