• Uniper's Poppinga trusts US LNG system over political concerns
• Uniper emphasizes need for diversification in LNG sourcing
• US LNG accounts for 96% of Germany's LNG imports

DOHA, Feb 4 - A top executive at German utility Uniper has played down European concerns over increasing dependence on liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States, saying companies sign contracts with firms rather than governments, while stressing the need for diversification.

U.S. President Donald Trump's transactional diplomacy and his pursuit of "energy dominance" has sharpened European concerns about their heavy reliance on U.S. LNG, which replaced most of the volumes previously supplied by Russia.

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The European Union's LNG imports from the U.S. stood at almost 60 million tons in 2025, nearly four times higher than its 2021 levels, according to Kpler data.

"We are not dealing with an administration, we are dealing with companies operating in a certain system and I trust that system," Carsten Poppinga, Uniper's chief commercial officer, told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the LNG2026 conference in Doha, Qatar.

"That there will be a dominance of U.S. LNG, I think that's understandable and right, because it's the most economical solution."

Nevertheless, companies need to manage portfolio risks by means of diversification, he added.

Germany imported 1.031 terawatt hours (TWh) of pipeline gas and LNG in 2025, up more than 16% year-on-year, with Norway (44%), the Netherlands (24%) and Belgium (21%) being the top suppliers, according to figures from the country's energy regulator.

Around 10% of all imports occurred via the country's LNG terminals, most of which were hastily built during Europe's energy crisis, with the United States accounting for 96% of those.

In April 2025, Uniper signed an LNG deal with Woodside Energy (WDS.AX) , opens new tab, with supply coming from the Australian firm's global portfolio as well as its Louisiana project in the U.S.

Poppinga added that the company would seek to diversify its supply sources to include the Middle East and Argentina.

"We will have a large share of U.S. LNG in the portfolio in Europe, there's no way around it. The only thing I'm saying is that you need this diversification. How much percentage that is, any company needs to decide for itself, but you need to have partners from different regions in the world."

His comments were echoed by Egbert Laege, chief executive of German energy firm SEFE, who said Europe must not repeat past mistakes by becoming overly dependent on a single supplier or region.

"In 2022, there was a big temptation just to travel a couple of miles further out on the Gulf Coast to get another supplier in the portfolio. But if there is one lesson that we can learn from a European side... diversification, that's the best risk management tool," Laege said at the conference during a panel session.

"Of course, in the aftermath of 2022, the first reaction of Europe was to look to the U.S., because there were many projects on the verge of being licensed, but I think it would be a very big mistake to just lean on one region... Europe should not repeat to depend too much on one region."

Asked about concerns of an LNG supply glut as new projects, mainly from the United States and Qatar come online later this year through 2029, Poppinga said the market would ultimately "rebalance" and Asia's rising demand should absorb additional volumes, expecting longer-term European gas prices to settle around €20–25/MWh.

"It might take some time (to rebalance), but I don't believe in a structural, long lasting oversupply," he said.

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/germanys-uniper-downplays-increasing-reliance-us-lng-stresses-diversification-2026-02-04/