Shipments of the super-chilled fuel reportedly surged after pipeline gas transit through Ukraine stopped, the outlet reports
The EU’s imports of liquified natural gas (LNG) from Russia surged at an unprecedented rate in the first two weeks of the year, Politico reported on Thursday, citing data tracked by commodities data provider Kpler.
In the first 15 days of 2025, EU member states reportedly purchased 837,300 metric tons of the super-chilled gas from Russia, marking an all-time high, up from the 760,100 tons recorded during the same period in 2024.
Imports surged shortly after Ukraine refused to extend a five-year transit contract with Russian energy giant Gazprom at the end of 2024, cutting off member states like Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Italy, and Moldova from the flow of pipeline natural gas from Russia.
Exports of Russian pipeline gas significantly reduced in the wake of the Ukrainian conflict and the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in September 2022. However, EU member states continued to import record amounts of LNG from the country, as the chilled fuel was only partially targeted by the latest sanctions introduced by the bloc.
In June, the EU targeted Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) for the first time, banning re-loading operations, ship-to-ship transfers, and ship-to-shore transfers with the purpose of re-exporting to third countries via the EU. The sanctions have a nine-month transition period.
The EU has committed itself to eliminating its dependence on Russian energy resources, but has continued to purchase LNG from the country. The volumes of the chilled gas purchased by the bloc accounted for 15% of total imports of the fuel as of June 2024, according to data tracked by Kpler.
In the first half of last year, Russia was the second-biggest supplier of LNG to the European continent after the US, according to data compiled by the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, which noted that the country’s share amounted to 21%.
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was planning to continue increasing its share of the global LNG market, noting that the fuel was one of the most requested energy products in the world.
