UK aims to reduce energy reliance on Russia

More use of nuclear power, renewables set to bolster North Sea oil exploitation

The United Kingdom government will soon unveil a new energy supply strategy to reduce reliance on Russia amid the fallout from the Ukraine crisis, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.

Johnson said there needs to be more use of nuclear and renewable energy, and warned that the crisis means "there are going to be impacts" for people in the UK.

Johnson was speaking at a news briefing alongside his counterparts from Canada and the Netherlands, Justin Trudeau and Mark Rutte.

"It is completely the right thing to do to move away from Russian hydrocarbons, but we have to do it step by step," Johnson said.

"You can't simply close down use of oil and gas overnight, even from Russia-that's obviously not something every country around the world can do. We can go fast in the UK, other countries can go fast, but there are different dependencies."

The Daily Telegraph said the prime minister's comments suggest the UK is "looking at more North Sea drilling and a rethink of fracking".

Adair Turner, chair of the Energy Transitions Commission think tank, warned that while the new initiative could help ease the pain of soaring fuel prices in the short term, it should not be seen as a long-term solution to Britain's energy challenge, The Guardian reported.

"You have to distinguish between the short term-more gas from existing fields-and the long term," said Turner. "Fundamentally, we want no new oil and gas (exploration) from the North Sea. The future of the North Sea should be windmills, not oil and gas."

European countries were last week reported to be increasing deliveries of liquefied natural gas at ports across the continent.

Rutte highlighted concerns for Europe as a whole. "We have to make sure to deleverage our dependency on Russian gas, on Russian oil, while acknowledging at the moment that the dependency is, to a certain extent, still there," he said.

Russia provides around 40 percent of the European Union's natural gas supply, according to the oilprice.com news site.

Gas and oil prices hit new highs on Monday as concerns grew that supplies from Russia may be disrupted as western nations consider sanctions on the Kremlin's fossil fuel exports, reported The Times. It noted that benchmark Brent crude prices touched $139 a barrel on Monday, the highest level in almost 14 years.

Germany is more cautious about a potential Russia energy import ban. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said oil and gas supplies from the Kremlin were of "essential importance" to the EU's economy, reported the AFP news agency.

In a statement broadcast on state television, Russia's deputy prime minister, Alexander Novak, raised the possibility of cutting fuel supplies to Germany if western nations were to implement a ban on its oil and gas, reported the BBC.

He claimed oil prices could surpass $300 if the United States and EU banned imports from Russia. Fossil fuels account for more than 60 percent of Russia's exports, the Telegraph said.

Novak said: "A rejection of Russian oil would lead to catastrophic consequences for the global market.

"In connection with unfounded accusations against Russia regarding the energy crisis in Europe and the imposition of a ban on Nord Stream 2, we have every right to take a matching decision and impose an embargo on gas pumping through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline."