Europe’s LNG Imports to Surge to Second-Highest on Record

The liquefied natural gas tanker Flex Volunteer, sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands, near Saint-Nazaire, France, on April 12, 2022. Sebastien Salom-Gomis/AFP via Getty Images

Europe’s liquified natural gas (LNG) imports are set to surge this month to the second-highest on record.

According to analysis by Reuters on Feb. 25, Europe started the year with record-setting amounts of LNG imports.

February and January months ranked as the third- and fourth-highest ever for total monthly imports.

But if February LNG imports are calculated on a per-day basis, the month is set to become the second-highest since April 2023.

February’s imports, a month which has fewer days, are expected to come in at 11.81 million tons, while 11.84 million tons were imported in January.

Piped Gas

Europe is increasingly turning to LNG after supplies from Russia via pipeline crossing Ukraine ended at the start of January.

On Jan. 1, the major contract that piped gas through Ukraine from Russia ended after Kyiv’s state-owned Naftogaz gas company elected not to renew it.

LNG, which is transported by sea in specialized tankers, has become increasingly important for Europe’s energy supply.

Major ports in France, Belgium, and Spain receive liquified natural gas shipments, which are then converted back to gas and distributed across the continent.

Europe’s increased demand for LNG is mostly being met by the United States, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. 

This trend is likely to continue as part of President Donald Trump’s push for more U.S. domestic drilling and increased exports of LNG to Europe.

Samuel Furfari, a senior official at the EU’s Energy Directorate-General from 1982 to 2018, previously told The Epoch Times that LNG was “the energy changer.”

He said that the situation will “stimulate new supplier countries because, in the past, gas pipelines were considered to be the only means of transport.”

“That’s over now,” Furfari said.

European Gas Market Volatility

In an analysis published on Feb. 23, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that “European gas market volatility” is putting continued pressure on competitiveness and cost of living.

It said that European consumers and governments are now entering their fourth year of high and volatile gas prices.

It added that gas prices for industrial consumers in Europe since 2022 have, on average, been 30 percent higher than in China and five times as high as in the United States.

It said that the main European gas price benchmark currently stands at around EUR 47/MWh (or USD 14.50/MBtu).

“This is far below the highs seen in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but it is nonetheless around double pre-crisis levels,” it said.

The IEA said that the EU has a relatively low amount of gas in storage, which is putting “upward pressure” on prices.

It also said that renewable energy wind and solar had a relatively long period of low wind speeds and limited sunshine in the first half of November.

The phenomenon referred to as Dunkelflaute meant that an 80 percent increase in gas consumption from the same period in 2023 was required to ensure continued electricity supplies.

Downfall 

Earlier in the year, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called for a review of the European Green Deal, warning that high energy prices could topple democratic governments.

Speaking in Strasbourg on Jan. 22, Tusk said that some EU regulations have led to a situation in which “energy prices are too high.”

Poland currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Veteran center-right leader Tusk told European Parliament members that high energy prices “might bring the downfall of many democratic governments.”

EU leaders have prioritized a renewables-first energy approach along with the EU’s aims to be “climate neutral” by 2050, a key part of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s European Green Deal.

“It’s unacceptable that our European energy is the most expensive. If it cannot be the cheapest one, at least it should be more or less on the same level as in other countries,” Tusk said.

Reuters contributed to this report.