Russia Overtakes US as Europe's Top Gas Supplier in May, for the First Time in Two Years

In May 2024, Europe's gas imports from Russia surpassed supplies from the US for the first time in nearly two years, despite ongoing efforts in the region to reduce dependency on Russian fuel following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, EU countries were striving to replace Russia’s liquefied natural gas. Already in September 2022, the USA became the largest supplier of gas to Europe.

However, in May 2024, pipeline deliveries of Russian gas and liquefied natural gas overtook US imports for the first time since 2022, accounting for 15% of total deliveries to the EU and other European countries, while US  liquefied natural gas deliveries accounted for only 14% of total volumes.

This can be explained by the temporary short-term issues at a major US liquefied natural gas export facility.

Since 2022, Russia has been supplying gas to Europe exclusively through pipelines passing via Turkey and Ukraine. The transit agreement between Ukraine and Russia, set to expire this year, is expected to cease flows through this route.

According to the Independent Commodity Intelligence Service (ICIS) representative Marzec-Manser, the change is unlikely to be long-lasting as Russia will be able to ship liquefied natural gas to Asia via the northern sea route in the summer, which is likely to reduce supplies to Europe, while liquefied natural gas production in the USA is growing again.

On Friday, June 14, EU countries were unable to reach a consensus on imposing new sanctions on Russia’s liquefied natural gas sector, where Germany's opposition thwarted a potential agreement.