Ignoring Western Sanctions, European Gas Imports from Russia Exceed the US

JAKARTA – European gas imports Russia took over supplies from the United States (US) in May for the first time in almost two years, the Financial Times reported, citing data from consultancy ICIS.

Last month, liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments from the US reportedly accounted for 14% of all supplies to the region, marking the lowest level since August 2022. Meanwhile, Russian pipeline gas along with LNG supplies accounted for 15% of total supplies to Europe, which defined as the European Union, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia.

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According to the paper, May supplies were affected by several factors including operational disruptions at a major US LNG export facility as well as increased flows of Russian gas via the TurkStream gas pipeline ahead of planned maintenance taking place June 5-12. Meanwhile, the FT noted, gas demand in the region remains relatively weak, while storage levels are near record highs for this year.

Despite a sharp decline in Russian gas deliveries to the region due to Ukraine-related sanctions and sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline, a number of European countries remain dependent on Russian gas.

Transit via Ukraine and the European branch of TurkStream are currently the only operating channels to transport Russian gas to central and southern Europe. Kiev previously said that it would not extend the current transit agreement with Russian energy giant Gazprom which is due to expire at the end of 2024.

Last month, Russia’s Vedomosti reported, citing data tracked by the European Network of Gas Transport System Operators (ENTSOG), that Russian gas supplies to the region via TurkStream had jumped nearly 40% to 5.11 billion cubic meters in the first three months of this year.

In May, the European Council approved a regulation for renewable gas, natural gas and hydrogen that will allow EU member states to suspend gas supplies from Russia and Belarus from 2026. The regulation will also give the European Commission the option to temporarily exclude supplies of natural gas or LNG supplies from both countries for a period of up to one year.

Quoting Russian Today, earlier this month, the head of Russia’s major oil company, Rosneft, Igor Sechin, said European Union member states spent more than USD 630 billion on non-Russian gas imports over the last three years until 2023. This figure is the same as the total expenditure European Union gas over the previous eight years.

(nng)