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Germany joined the Russian LNG and pulled the whole of Europe with it

The Fedor Litke tanker has delivered another batch of Yamal LNG to the EU. Photo: Plague Christian/marinetraffic.com

In 2024, Germany increased imports of Russian LNG and helped set a new record for purchases of liquefied natural gas from Russia in the EU. This is stated in a joint analysis of the environmental organizations Deutsche Umwelthilfe, Urgewald, Razom We Stand and Bond Beter Leefmilieu.

"Imports of Russian LNG to the EU in 2024 reached record levels. Imports increased by 19.3% compared to the previous year. The central role was played by the German state—owned company SEFE, which acted as the buyer of 58 cargoes with a total volume of 4.1 million tons (5.6 billion cubic meters)," the Deutsche Umwelthilfe organization said. She noted that there has been a significant increase, as in 2023 SEFE received from Russia has 12 cargoes with a volume of 880 thousand tons (1.2 billion cubic meters).

"Russian liquefied natural gas accounts for at least 3%, and in the worst case up to 9.2% of total gas imports to Germany in 2023. It is difficult to determine the specific amount due to the lack of transparency in the EU domestic gas market," the environmental organization reports. She calls for an embargo on the supply of Russian LNG throughout the EU.

Deutsche Umwelthilfe noted that, according to its data, in 2024 the countries The EU purchased 15.93 million tons of LNG from Russia. Another 2.55 million tons were re-exported through European ports.

Sanctions The EU does not prohibit the import of Russian LNG. Its share in the total purchases of the European Union is 10%. This is due to long-term contracts that German, Spanish and French companies have. In addition, LNG is mainly transported from the Yamal LNG project and it has a small transport shoulder compared to gas delivery even from the USA.

In March, sanctions against the Baltic Portovaya and Cryogaz Vysotsk projects will come into force, but they account for small volumes compared to Yamal LNG. The total capacity of the two projects is 2.2 million tons and significant volumes went to China last year.

Also in March, a ban on transshipment of Russian LNG in European ports will come into force, however, as analysts noted for EADaily, this may further increase imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia to the EU countries. Transshipment is used to optimize the supply of Yamal LNG to Asia outside the navigation season along the Northern Sea Route.

The German SEFE is the former Gazprom Germania, which was nationalized by the German government in April 2022. She inherited from Gazprom a contract with Yamal LNG for the supply of 2.9 million tons of LNG per year. The Russian government exempted him from counter-sanctions. At the same time, SEFE also has a contract for the supply of LNG to Indian Gail, which the German company violates. On the one hand, in 2023 and 2024, it resumed deliveries — from Cameroon, where Gazprom also left an LNG contract. On the other hand, most of the Yamal gas will remain in Europe from 2022. It is unloaded at terminals in Zeebrugge, Belgium, and Dunkirk, France. Such deliveries allow SEFE to receive fuel at a price lower than the exchange price, which in 2022 soared to 3.5 thousand per thousand cubic meters, and now is around $ 500, which is also 2.7 times higher than pre-crisis quotations.

Earlier, in November, SEFE tried to import Russian LNG directly through German state terminals, but the German government forbade it and the tanker Fedor Litke had to unload in the French Dunkirk.

If the LNG is from Russia continues to flow to Germany, but Gazprom's pipeline gas does not. Deliveries stopped completely at the end of August 2022, when the Nord Stream was suspended due to sanctions.

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29.01.2025

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