Germany's Uniper stresses diversification and downplays the increasing reliance on US Liquefied Natural Gas

Uniper's Poppinga trusts US LNG system over political concerns

Uniper stresses the need for LNG diversification

US LNG is responsible for 96% Germany's LNG imports

Emily Chow

DOHA, February 4 - A top executive of German utility Uniper played down European concerns about increasing reliance on liquefied gas (LNG), which is imported from the United States. He said that companies sign contracts with 'firms, not governments', and stressed the importance of diversification.

The transactional diplomacy of U.S. president Donald Trump and his pursuit to "energy dominate" have heightened European concerns over their heavy dependence on U.S. LNG. This has replaced the majority of volumes previously supplied by Russia.

According to Kpler, the European Union's LNG exports from the U.S. will reach almost 60 million tonnes in 2025. This is nearly four times higher than 2021.

Carsten Poppinga (Uniper's Chief Commercial Officer) said in an interview on the sidelines the LNG2026 Conference in Doha, Qatar, "We don't deal with an administration. We deal with companies operating within a system, and I trust this system."

It's logical and reasonable to assume that U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas will dominate the market, because it is the most cost-effective solution.

Diversification is a good way to reduce portfolio risk, but he added.

According to the German energy regulator, Germany will import 1.031 terawatt-hours (TWh), or?pipeline-gas and LNG, in 2025. This is an increase of more than 16% compared to the previous year. The top suppliers are Norway (44%), Netherlands (24%), and Belgium (21%).

The United States accounted for 96% (or 10%) of the LNG terminals in the country. Most of these were built hastily during Europe's energy crises.

Uniper signed a LNG agreement with Woodside Energy in April 2025. The deal will see the Australian company's global portfolio and its Louisiana project, located in the U.S., supplying LNG.

Poppinga said that the company will seek to diversify its supply sources, including the Middle East and Argentina.

There's no other way to put it: "We'll have a significant share of U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in the portfolio for Europe. You need diversification, that's all I can say. Any company can decide how much of a percentage to allocate, but it is important to have partners from different parts of the world.

Poppinga responded to concerns about an LNG glut, as new projects - mainly those from the United States, Qatar and other countries - come online in the coming months and years. He said that the market will "rebalance", and Asia's growing demand should absorb any additional volumes. Poppinga expects European gas prices on the long term to be around EUR20-25/MWh.

He said: "It may take some time to rebalance, but I do not believe that there is a structural and long-lasting oversupply."

(source: Reuters)