Russian LNG

Russian LNG imports rose 16% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026 to a quarterly record, with France, Spain and Belgium the principal recipients, as buyers front-loaded purchases ahead of the EU's short-term spot-contract ban that took effect on 25 April 2026. Four LNG terminals, Panigaglia, EemsEnergy, Fos Cavaou and Sines, recorded their lowest utilisation since 2023 in the same quarter, as cargoes concentrated at a smaller number of large-capacity hubs.

The EU's 20th sanctions package, adopted 23 April 2026, added a second cliff: a ban on EU terminal services for Russian LNG from 1 January 2027, landing on the same date the long-term contracts held by TotalEnergies, Naturgy and SEFE expire. That coincidence removes any transitional buffer, since buyers can neither roll into new short-term deals nor re-route through EU terminals using existing vessels.

Russian LNG cargoes kept arriving in the EU at scale through the spring: shipments rose 17% year-on-year in the window ACER reviewed, most of it frontloaded purchases and retained transhipment cargoes rather than any new buying, evidence the ban's narrow scope had yet to touch actual trade volumes. ACER's first mandated phase-out monitoring report, published 1 July 2026, traced that resilience to the grandfathered long-term contracts still running, noted Russian-sourced gas overall still met roughly 12% of EU demand, and dated the full ban's real bite to November 2027. Greece is one of six states blocking the EU's 21st sanctions package, first stalled at COREPER on 15 July and rescheduled for 22 July, seeking to preserve its own right to re-export Russian LNG to third countries even as direct EU import routes tighten.