The European Union imported a record 9.89 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the large Yamal LNG plant in the first half of 2026, which is 18% more than in 2025, analysts from Kpler reported.
According to them, the main buyers were France, Belgium and Spain, which imported 3.6 million, 2.9 million and 2.7 million tons of LNG, respectively. In total, the EU could pay around EUR 6 billion for gas supplies.
On 26 January, the EU Council finally approved a complete ban on Russian LNG supplies to the EU from 1 January 2027 and pipeline gas from 30 September 2027. At the same time, the ban on LNG imports under short-term contracts entered into force on 25 April 2026, and short-term pipeline gas supply contracts had to be fulfilled by 17 June.
Deliveries to Asia during the same period decreased by 74% to 510,000 tonnes. The reduction in LNG exports to the region was due to concerns about possible sanctions restrictions by the European Union.
Two large-scale LNG plants are currently operating in Russia - Yamal LNG and Sakhalin-2. Another project - Arctic LNG - 2 (first line) - has not yet been officially launched, but individual shipments have reportedly been exported to China. In addition, Russia operates two medium-scale LNG plants in the Baltic Sea - Gazprom LNG Portovaya and Cryogaz-Vysotsk, which were included in the US Treasury Department's sanctions list.