Russian liquefied natural gas is booming in Europe – partly because it will soon be banned. (archive image)Image: keystone
The largest Russian liquefied natural gas plant is supplying Europe with more LNG than ever before. But the production facility could soon be forced to stop exporting.
July 13, 2026, 10:34July 13, 2026, 10:34
Russia’s largest natural gas liquefaction plant is located on the Yamal Peninsula. The Yamal LNG, which opened in 2018 and is owned by the Russian energy company Novatek, among others, officially produces 17.4 million tons of LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) per year; in fact, it is usually more. And it is precisely from this plant that European countries imported more gas than ever before in the first half of 2026, writes Financial Times on Monday.
A total of 9.89 million tons of LNG have left the plant for Europe since the beginning of the year – and thus almost the entire output of Jamal LNG. Compared to the previous year, that is 18 percent more, the magazine quotes the analysis company Keplr. And the German NGO Urgewald calculates that up to six billion euros (around 5.5 billion francs) flowed to Russia for this.
The largest importers are France, Belgium and Spain. From the Yamal plant, 3.6, 2.9 and 2.7 million tons of liquefied natural gas flowed to these countries, respectively, Keplr said. The EU has clear rules in this regard.
Total ban comes in 2027
The EU bans its member states from buying Russian liquefied natural gas under short-term contracts. Therefore, for every delivery of Yamal LNG to Europe, the customs authority of the importing country must confirm that the purchase was made under an already existing long-term contract.
But that will soon change. From January 1, 2027, the EU will also ban the purchase of Russian LNG under long-term contracts. A ban on the import of natural gas from pipelines is expected to follow later this year. Then both buyers and sellers have to look for alternatives, but until that happens, European countries seem to want to take another big step.
Sebastian Rötters, campaigner at Urgewald, calls the latest Jamal export figures “shocking”. Nevertheless, they “do not come from nowhere”: exports to Europe have increased steadily since the intensification of Russian attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Yamal exports could stop altogether
Yamal’s liquefied natural gas is transported exclusively by sea. Sebastian Rötters explains: “Jamal LNG depends on a small, specialized fleet, European ports and European services. Europe continues to provide all of this.”
While Europe imported so much LNG from Yamal in the first half of 2026, sales to Asia fell by 74 percent, writes the FT. This is partly because several international transport companies and insurers no longer want to take the risk of coming into contact with EU sanctions.
And: Because transport via the northern route to Asia is significantly longer and riskier than export to Europe, the EU ban in 2027 is likely to have drastic consequences for the plant. The CEO of the French TotalEnergies, which, along with Novatek and the Chinese CNPC, holds stakes in Jamal LNG, even predicts that the plant may have to stop exports entirely.
(cpf)