HAMBURG, June 20 (Reuters) - Europe's largest copper producer Aurubis is exploring a switch to alternative energy sources at its European sites, including electricity and oil, as a way to cut gas consumption, it said on Monday.

"This would result in considerable costs for the conversion, for which we would have to make advance payments," the company said a day after Germany unveiled a new package aimed at saving gas, Russian supplies of which have drastically dwindled.

"Due to many disruptions in global supply chains, a switch to alternative energy sources is currently estimated to take several months to a year, depending on the measure, and is characterised by major uncertainties such as the availability of technologies and service providers," Aurubis said.

Around 80% of the group's energy needs are met by electricity, the group said, adding its plant in Hamburg, where the company is based, could not be weaned off natural gas in the short term due to energy-intense production processes.

German industry largely depends on Russian gas and efforts to replace the fuel with other sources is proving a challenge for Berlin, facing higher procurement costs and competition for scarce alternative volumes. (Reporting by Jan Schwartz; Writing by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Susan Fenton)