Russian gas flows to EU in first half were a quarter higher than a year earlier

The volume of natural gas that Russia exports by pipeline to European Union countries increased by 24 percent year on year in the first half of the year. This is according to a report published in July by the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) on Monday. Gas consumption in the EU is falling.

The organization did not publish exact figures for individual exporters. In total, however, 80 billion cubic meters of natural gas flowed to the EU by pipeline in the first half of the year. Norway supplied more than half of this. Algeria followed, then Russia and Azerbaijan.

Imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) into the EU fell by a fifth year on year in June to 7.4 million tonnes, the lowest level since October 2021. „The decline is due to lower gas consumption, high storage levels, increased gas imports via pipelines, and a significant price spread between spot LNG prices in Asia and the Pacific and in Europe,“ GECF writes. For the first half of the year as a whole, LNG imports into the EU fell by 19 percent to 47.22 million tonnes.

Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, European countries have been seeking to reduce their dependence on Russian energy, particularly natural gas. They are working to reduce consumption and find alternative sources, including LNG from the United States and gas from Azerbaijan.