The U.S. oil and gas industry took advantage of the Ukraine crisis to make a windfall

It has been almost a year
since the crisis in Ukraine escalated.
The United States has pushed its European allies to impose severe economic sanctions and even an energy embargo on Russia in an attempt to strangle the lifeblood of the Russian economy, which has seriously disrupted the global energy supply chain
.
International observers believe that European countries are highly dependent on Russian energy supplies and have encountered a more serious energy crisis due to promoting the "decoupling" of Russian energy, but US energy companies have taken the opportunity to sell a large amount of high-priced oil and gas to Europe and make a lot
of money.

The latest data from market research institute Kepler shows that in the context of the escalation of the crisis in Ukraine, the pipeline natural gas transmission channels between Russia and Europe have been restricted, and the demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the EU has surged
.
In 2022, EU LNG imports reached an all-time high of 94.
73 million mt, up from 57.
27 million mt
in 2021.
Among them, the EU's imports of liquefied natural gas from the United States accounted for 41% of total imports last year, reaching 38.
86 million tons, an increase of 23.
59 million tons from 2021, an increase of 154%
year-on-year.

In fact, the United States has long been eyeing European gas demand
.
In March last year, the United States took the initiative to "cheer" for European allies to restrict Russian oil and gas imports, promising to increase LNG exports
to the EU by at least 15 billion cubic meters that year.

In the first half of 2022, the United States jumped to become the world's largest LNG exporter, up 12%
from the second half of 2021, according to the U.
S.
Energy Information Administration.

Kepler analyst Matt Smith expects that US LNG exports are expected to continue to grow in 2023 as Europe will replenish stocks depleted in winter, which also means that the United States will continue to maintain its position as
Europe's largest natural gas supplier.

From the perspective of oil, the sanctions imposed by the United States and the West on Russia's energy industry have led to a sharp decline in Russian crude oil exports, and the demand for alternative crude oil in the international market has increased
significantly.
Rohit Latode, a market analyst at energy research institute Voteksa Consulting, pointed out that the Ukrainian crisis has brought more new demand
for energy in the United States.

U.
S.
oil and gas supplies have helped to temporarily alleviate the urgent need for Europe's energy crisis, but the price of liquefied natural gas exported by sea from the United States to Europe by sea is more expensive than Russian pipeline natural gas, and the price
has risen sharply under the influence of the Ukraine crisis.
Europe pays a higher price for alternative energy sources, most of which flows into the pockets of the United States, helping the US oil and gas industry to solve its difficulties and achieve a significant increase
in revenue.

U.
S.
LNG export revenues surged to $35 billion between January and September 2022, compared to just $8.
3 billion in the same period in 2021, according to the U.
S.
Energy Information Administration.

During the same period, Chesapeake Energy, a U.
S.
shale oil and gas company, made a profit of $1.
3 billion
.
As early as 2020, the company was affected by the new crown epidemic, its revenue was almost exhausted, and it once filed for bankruptcy protection
.
Shares of U.
S.
energy giant Chevron rose 50.
5 percent for the whole of last year, in stark
contrast to the 20 percent decline in the S&P 500 as a whole over the same period.

The United States took the opportunity to sell energy to European countries at high prices, which caused a lot of criticism
.
After attending the EU summit in October 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron publicly accused the United States of selling oil at low prices at home and dumping goods at high prices in Europe, saying that the United States derives excess profits from geopolitical battles and sells natural gas to Europe at three to four times
higher prices than in the US home market.
German Deputy Chancellor and Minister of Economy and Climate Protection Habeck alluded to the fact that the United States has made a fortune
on the Ukraine crisis.

In fact, the Ukraine crisis is just a footnote
in the US selling energy means to the world.
For a long time, using energy exports as a foreign policy bargaining chip has been the consensus
of the US Congress and administration.

Back in February 2020, then-U.
S.
Energy Secretary Dan Broyet said at an event at the Atlantic Council, a U.
S.
think tank, that U.
S.
foreign policy would be revolutionized after the U.
S.
transition to a net energy exporter, and "we can pursue what was previously unattainable without worry.
"