Romania has become Austria's hope for energy security. Vienna fears the US as well as Russia

Austria is looking to expand renewable energy and increase gas imports from Africa to avoid becoming too dependent on liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States, Austrian Energy Secretary Elisabeth Zehetner said on Wednesday, as Europe reviews its energy supply, reports Reuters, taken by Agerpres.

Austria hopes to increase its gas imports from Africa via the Transmed pipeline that reaches Italy, and from the Romanian Neptun Deep field in the Black Sea, developed by the Austrian company OMV, which will start production next year, the Austrian official said. The Vienna authorities are already importing from Norway, the USA and Qatar.

European countries are scrambling to keep electricity prices affordable, with the European Union cutting off Russian gas by 2027 in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Many governments fear a trade-off amid controversial decisions by President Donald Trump.

“At this time the United States is not predictable, so for Austria we are carefully analyzing methods to ensure that we have LNG from different sources,” Elisabeth Zehetner said in an interview with Reuters.

“I wonder if I have traded one addiction for another”

Zehetner is among officials from the 38 OECD member states meeting in Paris to discuss energy security at a meeting of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

“From the beginning of 2025, we no longer import any kind of gas from Russia, but now we face the same issue with LNG. And if more than 40% of Europe's LNG imports come only from the US, we have to ask ourselves if we have not traded one dependency for another,” said the Austrian official.

On Tuesday, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright criticized the IEA for focusing on renewable energy and climate policy, and called on Europe to buy more liquefied natural gas from the United States at what he said would be low prices.

But Zehetner said most ministers present at Wednesday's first session reaffirmed their commitment to expanding renewable energy because it is produced domestically and the cost of generation is low, while stressing that natural gas remains essential for a stable supply.

“Domestic generation is much more reliable than any kind of imports … but we know that we will still be dependent on gas for many decades to come. The problem is how to deal with these dependencies,” Zehetner said.

Asked about the potential return of Russian gas, Zehetner said Austria would prefer to buy renewable energy from Ukraine, but added that if there is a peace deal acceptable to Kiev, some gas from Russia could be considered again.

“As far as Russia's role is concerned… we have learned our lesson, so we don't want to be dependent on anyone anymore,” the Austrian official added.