Europe Buys 80 Percent of US LNG in April, Replacing Russian Supplies Down One-Third

Deliveries of U.S. liquefied natural gas to the European Union were up nearly 20 percent year-over-year during the month of April, new data reveal. For the period of April 1st through 23rd the flow of LNG from the U.S. rose from 4.1 bcm to 4.8 bcm, an increase of 18 percent. The increase is primarily the result of stronger buying by Spain, data compiled by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), a think tank, indicates.

Over that same period supplies of Russian LNG to the EU, primarily from the Arctic Yamal LNG plant, were down 35 percent falling from 1.8 to 1.1 bcm. 

The European continent as a whole, including the UK and Türkiye, accounted for 80 percent of U.S. exports. The biggest importers were France buying 14.3 percent of U.S. production, followed by the UK at 13.6 percent and ??Türkiye with 12.2 percent. U.S. exports to Spain were up significantly growing five-fold to close to 1.2 bcm.

A number of European officials have said they are open to buying greater quantities of U.S. energy as the threat of tariffs continues to loom. The EU is also reportedly exploring options to soften methane emission rules to ease U.S. deliveries. 

Meanwhile Russian deliveries to the EU faced headwinds declining by 35 percent compared to the same April period in 2024. Whether U.S. supplies will continue to make inroads in replacing Russian LNG remains to be seen. 

Russian supplier Novatek was also faced with an unexpected shutdown of Train 3 of its Yamal LNG plant in April. The production line has since resumed production. 

The EU transshipment ban, which took effect at the end of March, may also be affecting Russian exports. Under the new policy EU terminals are barred from reloading LNG from Russia. Novatek has since resorted to using ship-to-ship transfers. Since the beginning of the year the main transfer point at Kildin Island near Murmansk has already seen 17 such STS operations almost matching the figure of 18 recorded for all of 2024. 

Global Russian LNG exports decreased by 23 percent year-over-year for the April period. China reduced imports from 1.0 bcm in 2024 to 0.4 bcm this year. The reduction comes as the result of sluggish demand by China in combination with the temporary shutdown of T3 of Yamal LNG and likely logistics adjustments following the EU transshipment ban.

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