Portugal wants to end imports of Russian liquefied natural gas

Portugal plans to increase imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States and Nigeria, aiming to end its now minimal imports of LNG from Russia. According to Reuters, this was announced by the country’s environment minister, Maria da Graça Carvalho.

In 2021, Russian LNG accounted for 15% of Portugal’s total supplies of the commodity. However, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the share of Russian LNG has gradually declined, reaching 4.4% last year. Around half of Portugal’s LNG imports came from Nigeria last year, and around 40% came from the United States.

Portugal imported a total of 49.1 TWh of natural gas last year, the vast majority of which (96%) was in the form of LNG. For comparison, total LNG imports into European Union countries amounted to around 1 140 TWh last year, according to data published by the Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) association. This was 16% less than in 2023, but almost 40% more than in 2021.

Portugal’s announcement that it intends to import more US LNG came shortly after new US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on the European Union unless member states increased their imports of energy commodities from the United States.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed Donald Trump’s announced plan to increase oil and gas exports, saying it was good for both Europe and Germany.

"More supply on the global market means lower energy commodity prices," Scholz noted, adding that he had always opposed halting the development of US LNG terminals.