Ships carrying 17.8m tonnes of ultra-cold Russian gas docked in European ports in 2024, up by more than 2m tonnes from the year before, according to analysts of Rystad Energy, said The Guardian.
According to the quoted source, Europe has slashed its vast imports of piped Russian gas since the start of the Ukraine war but has increasingly bought shipments of LNG from a number of countries, including Russia. Last year, it overtook Qatar as Europe’s second-biggest supplier of LNG, behind the U.S.
In 2024, Europe brought in 49.5bn cubic meters (bcm) of Russian gas through pipelines, and a further 24.2bcm in cold liquid form on ships. Some of the LNG will have been resold to other countries.
The figures were revealed days after Ukraine stopped flows of Russian gas through its pipelines, according to The Guardian.
Data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea), whose figures differ slightly from Rystad’s, showed EU imports of Russian LNG came to €7.32bn in 2024. It found a 14% year-on-year rise in volume.
Vaibhav Raghunandan, a Russia analyst at Crea, said the reason for the rise is fairly simple. “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.”
Svitlana Romanko, founder of Razom We Stand, said the record levels of Russian LNG imports in 2024 are a stark reminder that the EU must act decisively to close the remaining loopholes in its sanctions regime.
“The EU has a choice,” said Romanko. “Continue financing war and pollution, or commit to a clean, secure, and peaceful energy future.”
