Between April and September 2024, the European Union (EU) imported more natural gas from Russia than from the United States, although Norway still remains by far its largest supplier (more than 30% of imports), as This is revealed by data published by the Brussels think tank Bruegel.
Before the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia was the EU’s largest gas supplier (more than 40% of imports), but following Western sanctions the country was replaced by Norway and the United States. Washington had notably considerably increased its exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe, with a tripling of volumes shipped observed between the end of 2021 and 2023.
However, since last spring, Europe has once again imported more gas from Russia than from the United States. In detail, EU countries imported 13.0 and 13.3 billion cubic meters respectively from Russia in the second and third quarter of 2024, compared to 12.7 and 9.5 billion cubic meters respectively from the United States. during these same periods. As our infographic, which provides an overview of how volumes from different suppliers have changed over time, indicates, this is the first time in almost two years that imports from Russia are greater than those from ‘America.
As a researcher affiliated with Bruegel explains, cited by the Euractiv information site, “this change is largely explained by the decrease in American LNG imports in recent months”, in connection with summer demand which was low and reaching the maximum capacities of European storage sites. Thus, even if the volume of gas imported from Russia has changed little in recent months, its share in total European imports has increased.
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