EU gas imports from Yamal LNG hit record levels before Russian supply ban

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EU Yamal LNG import record

Highlights

EU imports from Yamal LNG hit a record 9.89 million tonnes in H1 2026, up 18% year-on-year, ahead of the 2027 Russian supply ban.
Europeans paid as much as 6 billion euros for Yamal shipments in H1 2026, with France, Belgium, and Spain leading purchases at 3.6m, 2.9m, and 2.7m tonnes respectively.
Yamal LNG exports to Asia dropped 74% to over 510,000 tonnes in H1 2026 due to shipping, insurance, and sanctions concerns, increasing reliance on the EU market.

Record Yamal purchases before 2027 ban

As reported by Financial Times, EU imports from Yamal LNG reached a record 9.89 million tonnes in the first six months of 2026, up 18 per cent from the same period a year earlier, according to data from analytics company Kpler. The volumes mean Europe absorbs almost all output from Russia's flagship Arctic liquefied natural gas facility, which is controlled by Novatek.

The figures highlight how central European demand remains to Yamal's operations as Russia's war against Ukraine continues. Urgewald, a non-governmental organisation, estimates Europe may have paid as much as 6 billion euros for the shipments.

France, Belgium and Spain are the main buyers, importing 3.6 million, 2.9 million and 2.7 million tonnes respectively in the first half of 2026, Kpler data shows. Sebastian Rötters, a sanctions campaigner at Urgewald, describes the numbers as stark and says they come as Russia intensifies attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and civilian sites.

Current EU rules already ban purchases of Russian LNG under short-term contracts, meaning each Yamal cargo delivered to Europe requires confirmation from the importing country's customs authority that the sale is made under a long-term contract. From January 1, 2027, the bloc's ban on long-term Russian LNG imports takes effect, while pipeline gas restrictions follow later that year.

Energy trade shifts and market implications

Europe's willingness to receive Yamal cargoes remains critical for the project because the Russian Arctic plant depends on a limited fleet of specialised Arc7 ice-class tankers. That logistical constraint makes access to nearby European buyers especially valuable for keeping exports moving.

At the same time, volumes sent from Yamal to Asia fall 74 per cent in the first half of 2026 to just over 510,000 tonnes. Although eastbound shipments usually increase in summer, fewer cargoes are heading to Asian markets so far this year, partly because some shipping groups, insurers and financiers are concerned about exposure to EU sanctions, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Yamal, inaugurated by President Vladimir Putin in 2017, remains Russia's largest liquefied gas producer with a design capacity of 17.4 million tonnes a year, though actual output often exceeds that level. Alongside majority owner Novatek, France's TotalEnergies and China's CNPC hold stakes in the project, and TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné says in February that regulatory ambiguities could force the company to stop exporting gas not only to the EU but potentially from the project altogether.

Our earlier article on the bipartisan U.S. push for tougher Russia energy sanctions explained that a group of senators reached an agreement with the Trump administration to advance updated sanctions legislation. We noted that the proposal is aimed at increasing the costs and risks for buyers of Russian oil and natural gas, with the goal of constraining Moscow’s energy revenues as the war in Ukraine continues.

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