Despite the host of sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, a surprising reversal has occurred in Europe’s gas imports. In a shift in May, Russia has once again become the biggest gas supplier in Europe, overtaking the United States for the first time in almost two years.
This development indicates the ongoing difficulty in reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian gas, with several Eastern European countries still relying on imports from their neighbor. According to Tom Marzec-Manser, the head of gas analytics at consultancy ICIS, “It’s striking to see the market share of Russian gas and [liquefied natural gas] inch higher in Europe after all we have been through, and all the efforts made to decouple and de-risk energy supply.”
The reversal can be attributed to a general uptick in European imports of Russian LNG and one-time factors such as an outage at a major US LNG export facility. However, Marzec-Manser believes this resurgence of Russian gas is “not likely to last” as Russia aims to ship more LNG to Asia and the US increases its LNG production.
The future of Europe’s gas supply remains uncertain, with the impending end of the transit agreement between Ukraine and Russia adding to the situation’s complexity.
