August 31, 2023. Posted by Balkan Periscope - Hellas
European
Union countries have increased their imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG)
from Russia compared with before the Ukraine war, despite the EU’s aim to quit
Russian fossil fuels within a few years, an analysis by campaigners showed.
In the first seven months of the year, EU countries imported 40% more Russian LNG on tankers than the same period in 2021, the year before Russia invaded Ukraine, campaign group Global Witness said.
EU
countries imported 22 million cubic metres of Russian LNG in January-July,
Global Witness said in an analysis of data from analytics firm Kpler.
Spain is
now the second-largest buyer of Russian LNG worldwide, with Belgium close
behind. During the first seven months of 2023, Spain took 18% of Russia’s total
sales, while Belgium took 17%. China bought 20%.
Russia made up around 16% of the EU’s total LNG imports from January-July, Aurora Energy Research data show.
The EU’s
Russian LNG imports in January-June would be equivalent to roughly 13 billion
cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas, Aurora said.
The volumes
are relatively minor compared to the much larger amount of pipeline gas Europe
imported from Russia before the Ukraine war – around 140 bcm per year.
Data from
the EU Commission showed EU countries imported 62 bcm of pipeline gas from
Russia in 2022.
But the
uptick in LNG runs counter to the EU’s aim to end its reliance on Russian
fossil fuels by 2027. Global Witness estimated EU countries’ Russian LNG
purchases this year so far to be worth €5.29 billion.
“Buying
Russian gas has the same impact as buying Russian oil. Both fund the war in
Ukraine,” Global Witness campaigner Jonathan Noronha-Gant said.
EU looking for legal options
The EU
faced an energy crunch of tight supplies and soaring gas prices last year,
after Moscow cut off most of its pipeline deliveries to Europe.
Euractiv,
Reuters