Page 108 - Russia OUTLOOK 2024

The EU still imports 50% of Russian LNG but is preparing to eliminate this dependence. Unlike the US, the EU has not yet imposed any sanctions on liquefied natural gas imports. As a result, the EU remains the destination for 50% of Russian LNG exports. From December 2022 to October 2023, half of Russian LNG exports, worth €8.3bn, were directed to the EU market.
Belgium and Spain, which have large regasification terminals for the liquid fuel, have become the biggest importers of Russian LNG behind China this year.
The Netherlands has banned new contracts for the trans-shipment of Russian LNG, which involves the transferral of gas between Russian Arctic-bound ice-breaker ships and tankers that take the fuel on to more temperate countries, particularly in Asia.
But Belgium, Spain and France have permitted importing and re-exporting of Russian LNG to continue, arguing that it is difficult for their companies to extract themselves from existing contracts.
Europe is reshipping 20% of its imports of Russian LNG to other parts of the world, helping Moscow maximise its fossil fuel revenues, the Financial Times reported on November 29.
Spain bought a record amount of gas from Russia, which secured the third position in LNG supplies to the Iberian country for the year 2023, according to the Spanish energy company Enagas.
Spain imported a total of 67,209 GWh of LNG from Russia between January and November 2023. This volume represents a significant increase of 39% against the 48,406 GWh imported during the same period in 2022.
Spain’s dependency on Russian gas has jumped sixfold over the past five years, according to Enagas, because the Maghreb-Europe pipeline was closed in 2021 owing to tensions between Algeria and Morocco, El Mundo said.
Russia’s contribution to the Spanish gas system in 2023 outperformed the contribution of Nigeria, which had been the third main supplier for Spain. The year of 2023 will end with Spain receiving more Russian gas than the country has imported in any other year in its history, El Mundo said.
8.0 Markets Outlook
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