ABC News reported that new analysis of trade data shows that Russia's liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to France doubled in the first half of this year, at a time when Europe was trying to eliminate Russian energy with the aim of reducing Moscow's funding for the war in Ukraine.
Europe has restricted imports of Russian oil, but still imports gas. And while French companies import the most, an analysis shows that EU countries have imported an additional 7% of Russian LNG in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.
Oleh Savytskyi, a founding member of the nonprofit Razom We Stand, which mobilizes to imposeugher sanctions on Russian fossil fuels, said the EU's goal of completely eliminating Russian fossil fuels by 2027 is to be "completely off track."
He said that countries buying Russian LNG are disrupting the continent's energy transition and contributing billions of dollars to Russia's war efforts.
European governments say a complete ban on Russian gas imports will skyrocket energy and heating bills and industrial gas users will also suffer.
The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) - a US nonprofit organization with the goal of accelerating the world's transition to more sustainable energy - said that French companies imported nearly 4.4 billion cubic meters of Russian LNG in the first half of this year, compared to more than 2 billion cubic meters in the same period last year. The next major importers are Spain and Belgium.
Totalenergies - the French energy giant that accounts for the largest market share in the list of imported goods from January to June - said it was bound by contracts signed before the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The ministry noted that France is one of Europe's main LNG imports. France and Spain each have seven LNG terminals - the most in Europe.
While France imports more Russian LNG, it also imports less from other suppliers including the US, Angola, Cameroon, Egypt and Nigeria.
Russian LNG price data is not public, but it is often sold at slightly lower prices, said Jason Feer, director of global business intelligence at Poten and Partners Energy Consulting.
It is noteworthy that the increased import of gas is not used by French households or industry. Gas demand in France has fallen 9% in the first half of this year compared to last year. Meanwhile, French gas exports via pipeline to Belgium have increased by nearly 10% in the first 6 months of the year, according to Kpler. It is unclear how much of that exports is Russian LNG.
According to Feer, "it shows that people are making money from this commercial activity".
Russia's largest LNG project is located on the Yamal peninsula in the Arctic Ring, a joint venture with Totalenergies, a company that owns 20%. Under the contract signed in 2018, Totalenergies committed to buying 4 million tons of gas from there annually.
Totalenergies said it has a legal obligation to respect its contracts and will do so "as long as European governments consider Russian gas necessary for the security of EU supply".
The company stressed that only when new sanctions are imposed can purchases be suspended.
But Savytskyi of Razom We Stand has called on the EU to implement a complete embargo on the item. He said Totalenergies "should not be free to keep Europe dependent on Russian gas".
