INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
German and Ukrainian NGOs.Though Berlin has officially banned direct imports of Russian LNG to its new facilities on the north coast, it has
been receiving Russian liquified gas via face-saving intermediary ports elsewhere in Europe.The German state-owned energy company Sefe,
Russia, reaching the country through other EU members, according to the data.Previously, Germany was heavily dependent on Russian piped gas
to power its economy and had not yet built LNG terminals
Russian gas but continued to import it via third parties
economy and sent the former powerhouse of Europe into a two-year recession.A significant portion of Russian LNG arrives at Belgian ports,
where it is re-gasified and transported via pipelines across Europe
Once in Germany, also home to the largest gas storage tanks in the EU, the gas is typically recorded as Belgian in official energy
statistics, despite Belgium having no domestic LNG production.Belgium is among the largest importers of Russian LNG, alongside Spain and
In 2024, Russian LNG supplies to Europe reached a record 17.2 billion cubic meters, with a portion of these shipments bound by long-term
energy.The EU is currently preparing a 16th package of sanctions on Russia that will be released on the third anniversary of the start of
Despite recent calls by 10 EU members to ban Russian LNG imports, LNG will not be included in the upcoming sanctions package.According to
the Kpler global trade intelligence firm, Russia exported a record 33.6 million tons (45.7 billion cubic meters) of LNG to Europe in 2024,
And piped gas exports to Europe, largely to Hungary, Turkey and Slovakia, were up a hefty 20%.More than half (52%) of Russian LNG exports
China imported another 31 bcm via the Power of Siberia pipeline, more than doubling the volume of imports since the war in Ukraine started
The pipeline is designed to deliver up to 38 bcm of natural gas annually to China and the Power of Siberia 2 will add another 50 bcm if it
is eventually built.Discussions are also ongoing regarding a potential new route through Kazakhstan capable of delivering up to 35 bcm
Russia reversed the flow of Soviet-era pipelines to Central Asia last year and is already sending about 5 bcm of gas to Uzbekistan and
Kazakhstan.Despite the energy dearth, EU leaders are still calling for a ban on Russian gas imports, a call repeated last week by German
Christian Democratic Union leader Friedrich Merz, who is widely expected to succeed Chancellor Olaf Scholz following February's general
election.The EU recently published a roadmap for abandoning Russian LNG by 2027 but its members are deeply divided on the issue.The largest
Netherlands (1.3 million tons).But this distorts the true picture of consumption: the same Germany that banned the reception of gas carriers
with Russian LNG at its terminals imports gas through France
As a result, even now 3-9% of the gas consumed in Germany is of Russian origin
gas market, taking into account the cessation of pipeline gas supplies since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has fallen from 40% to 6%.
