British gov't reviewing European gas crisis

Few in the European community could find relief in the event of a winter crisis stemming from transit issues in Ukraine, the British energy minister said.

European consumers get about a quarter of their gas needs from Russia, though the bulk of that supply runs through the Soviet-era transit network in Ukraine.

"We have looked at our gas resilience to a range of very extreme scenarios, including things we hope do not happen in Ukraine," British Energy Secretary Ed Davey said.

Russian energy company Gazprom in 2006 and 2009 cut gas supplies to Ukraine because of contractual disputes. That left downstream consumers in Europe without gas, a situation that could be repeated because of ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak committed last week to meeting contractual obligations to Europe.

Though the United Kingdom does not directly import gas from Russia, Davey said there would be regional implications should energy rows escalate.

"Clearly, there could be some price effects which no-one can escape," he said Tuesday.