More Russian gas flowed into Europe in July, up nearly a third from June

The volume of gas flowing from Russia to European Union countries via pipelines increased significantly last month. Thanks in particular to increased flows through the TurkStream pipeline, Russian pipeline gas deliveries to the EU reached a year-to-date high in July. However, they still represent only a fraction of the volumes seen in previous years.

After supplies through the Nord Stream pipeline were halted last year, natural gas from Russia has reached EU countries via just two main routes: Ukraine and Turkey. Additional volumes of Russian natural gas are shipped to the European market in liquefied form (LNG).

Several factors contributed to the rise in Russian gas supplies in July. The main one was increased flows through the TurkStream pipeline, which was shut down for around a week in June for planned maintenance. In July, however, the average daily flow of Russian gas through Turkey increased, probably because Russian gas bought under long-term, index-linked contracts was cheaper than in June.