EU Importation of Russian LNG Reaches 'Record Levels'
Despite pledging to seek alternatives, Western countries are still purchasing liquefied natural gas from Russia, according to recent data. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
Despite pledges to seek alternatives, Western nations have persisted in purchasing liquefied natural gas from Russia, new data indicates.
According to a report by The Guardian on Thursday, EU countries imported unprecedented volumes of liquefied natural gas from Russia last year, even as they committed to halting consumption of fuel from the sanctioned nation by 2027. This information comes from Rystad Energy, an energy analytics firm.
Although pipeline gas imports from Russia have sharply decreased due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in September 2022, the EU has continued to buy record amounts of LNG from the country. The recent sanctions imposed by the bloc have only partially targeted liquefied natural gas.
Rystad Energy's data reveals that LNG tankers carrying 17.8 million tons of super-chilled Russian gas arrived at European ports last year, marking an increase of 2 million tons compared to 2023.
This information was published shortly after Ukraine ceased the transit of Russian pipeline gas through its territory to the EU. Kiev ended a five-year transit contract with Russian energy giant Gazprom at the close of 2024, stopping the flow of natural gas to Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Italy, and Moldova.
According to gas analyst Jan-Eric Fahnrich from Rystad Energy, Russian LNG supplies to the EU not only rose but reached “record levels.” He stated that Russia surpassed Qatar to become the bloc’s second-largest LNG supplier in 2024, behind the United States.
Fahnrich further noted that the EU imported 49.5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas through pipelines last year, along with an additional 24.2 bcm of LNG, a portion of which was re-exported to other nations.
Additionally, a report from the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea) indicated slightly lower figures but confirmed the trend of increasing Russian LNG exports. According to Crea, EU imports of Russian LNG rose by 14% year-on-year in 2024, reaching 17.5 million tons, with a total value of €7.32 billion.
“The reason for the rise is fairly simple,” offered Vaibhav Raghunandan, a Russia analyst at Crea, in comments to the British newspaper. “Russian LNG is offered at a discount to alternative suppliers. With no sanctions imposed on the commodity, companies are operating in their own self-interest and buying increasing quantities of gas from the cheapest supplier.”
These estimates have exceeded earlier calculations from Bloomberg, which reported earlier this week that LNG shipments from Russia to the EU had surged to 15.5 million tons in 2024, compared to about 10.5 million tons in 2020.
Emily Johnson contributed to this report for TROIB News
According to a report by The Guardian on Thursday, EU countries imported unprecedented volumes of liquefied natural gas from Russia last year, even as they committed to halting consumption of fuel from the sanctioned nation by 2027. This information comes from Rystad Energy, an energy analytics firm.
Although pipeline gas imports from Russia have sharply decreased due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in September 2022, the EU has continued to buy record amounts of LNG from the country. The recent sanctions imposed by the bloc have only partially targeted liquefied natural gas.
Rystad Energy's data reveals that LNG tankers carrying 17.8 million tons of super-chilled Russian gas arrived at European ports last year, marking an increase of 2 million tons compared to 2023.
This information was published shortly after Ukraine ceased the transit of Russian pipeline gas through its territory to the EU. Kiev ended a five-year transit contract with Russian energy giant Gazprom at the close of 2024, stopping the flow of natural gas to Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Italy, and Moldova.
According to gas analyst Jan-Eric Fahnrich from Rystad Energy, Russian LNG supplies to the EU not only rose but reached “record levels.” He stated that Russia surpassed Qatar to become the bloc’s second-largest LNG supplier in 2024, behind the United States.
Fahnrich further noted that the EU imported 49.5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas through pipelines last year, along with an additional 24.2 bcm of LNG, a portion of which was re-exported to other nations.
Additionally, a report from the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea) indicated slightly lower figures but confirmed the trend of increasing Russian LNG exports. According to Crea, EU imports of Russian LNG rose by 14% year-on-year in 2024, reaching 17.5 million tons, with a total value of €7.32 billion.
“The reason for the rise is fairly simple,” offered Vaibhav Raghunandan, a Russia analyst at Crea, in comments to the British newspaper. “Russian LNG is offered at a discount to alternative suppliers. With no sanctions imposed on the commodity, companies are operating in their own self-interest and buying increasing quantities of gas from the cheapest supplier.”
These estimates have exceeded earlier calculations from Bloomberg, which reported earlier this week that LNG shipments from Russia to the EU had surged to 15.5 million tons in 2024, compared to about 10.5 million tons in 2020.
Emily Johnson contributed to this report for TROIB News
