London, Jun 8, 2019, SPA -- The Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Europe saved $8 billion on its natural gas bill last year because surging U.S. shale production and a shake-up in EU energy markets forced Russia to change its gas pricing mechanism. Fatih Birol, speaking as the IEA released its annual gas report Friday, said 2018 was a "golden year" for natural gas which accounted for 45 percent of total global energy growth, which in turn was the fastest in two decades. He said the shift in global gas markets stemming from the US shale gas revolution, a rapid expansion of the liquefied natural gas industry and EU liberalization of energy markets, had forced Russia to change its oil-indexed pricing of gas. -- SPA 17:00 LOCAL TIME 14:00 GMT 0010 www.spa.gov.sa/w1115766