Despite repeated commitments to reduce economic ties with Moscow, the EU paid an estimated €7.28 billion for LNG from Russia’s Arctic Yamal project between Jan. 1 and Sept. 5, already exceeding the estimated €7.2 billion spent during all of 2025, Euronews reported, citing analysis by German environmental and human rights group Urgewald.
During the first eight months of 2026, EU ports received 156 Yamal LNG cargoes totaling 11.39 million metric tons.
That was up from 142 cargoes carrying 10.34 million metric tons during the same period in 2025, an increase of about 10% by volume.
At the same time, global exports from Yamal LNG declined by 3.1%.
Europe therefore absorbed an increasingly large share of the project’s exports. EU ports accounted for 88.9% of Yamal LNG exports during the first eight months of 2026, compared with 78.2% during the same period last year, according to data from energy analytics firm Kpler.
Charles Costerousse, an LNG analyst at Kpler, told Euronews that the figures suggest EU buyers are seeking to maximize imports before the ban on Russian LNG under long-term contracts takes effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
Most current shipments are being delivered under existing long-term agreements, he said.
The EU already banned Russian LNG imports under short-term contracts on April 25, 2026.
France was the largest European importer of Yamal LNG during the period, receiving about 4.4 million metric tons, followed by Belgium with 3 million, Spain with 2.7 million and the Netherlands with 1.1 million, Costerousse said.
Yamal LNG is located in Russia’s western Arctic and is controlled by Russian gas producer Novatek.
Novatek’s chairman and key shareholder is billionaire Leonid Mikhelson, one of Russia’s wealthiest businessmen.
Novatek also has stakes in two other major LNG projects: Arctic LNG 2 and the medium-scale Cryogas-Vysotsk facility. Both projects are subject to Western sanctions.
Arctic LNG 2 has separately filed a claim with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre seeking about $1 billion in damages from South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean.
The EU’s phaseout rules allow imports of Russian LNG under existing long-term contracts to continue until Jan. 1, 2027, after which they will be prohibited.