The “Dependency” Myth

“Europe Has Not Traded One Dependency for Another.”
Written Statement for the Record, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, Feb. 4, 2026

The claim that European reliance on USLNG represents a new “dependency” comparable to pre-2022 Russian pipeline gas is either a fundamental misunderstanding of energy markets or deliberate disinformation. LNG Allies submitted this written statement to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s hearing on European energy security to set the record straight—with data.

Europe exchanged pipeline lock-in for globally flexible LNG cargoes, opaque political leverage for transparent contractual obligations, and Kremlin caprice for the American rule of law. As of Feb. 2026, 133 binding USLNG contracts totaling 232.1 mtpa have been signed with 69 companies from 26 nations. Europe represents 40% of total contracted USLNG volume—the largest regional commitment worldwide. The European Commission itself stated unequivocally two days before this testimony: “USLNG cannot be compared to the pre-war dependency we had with Russia.”

The testimony addresses the source of the dependency narrative (Moscow and anti-fossil fuel NGOs with converging interests), the structural differences between Gazprom and private USLNG companies, the Trump administration’s active and consistent promotion of USLNG exports, and the constitutional and commercial constraints that make supply interruption not merely unlikely but logically incoherent.

Read the full written statement →