ABC News reported that new analyses of trade data show that Russia's liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to France have doubled in the first half of this year, at a time when Europe is trying to eliminate Russian energy in order to reduce Moscow's funding for the war in Ukraine.
Europe has restricted the import of Russian oil, but still imports gas. While French companies import the most, an analysis shows that, overall, 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 - co-founder of the non-profit organization Razom We Stand, which advocates for stricter sanctions on Russian fossil fuels - said that the EU's goal of eliminating Russian fossil fuels entirely by 2027 is "completely off track".
He said that countries buying LNG from Russia are undermining the energy transition of this continent and contributing billions of dollars to Russia's war effort.
European governments say that banning the complete import of Russian gas would lead to a sharp increase in energy and heating bills and would also harm industrial gas users.
The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) - a US-based non-profit organization aiming to accelerate the transition to more sustainable energy worldwide - said that French companies have imported nearly 4.4 billion cubic meters of Russian LNG in the first half of this year, compared to over 2 billion cubic meters in the same period last year. The next largest importers are Spain and Belgium.
TotalEnergies - the largest energy company in France, which holds the largest share in the list of imported goods from January to June - said that they are bound by contracts signed before the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
This department notes that France is one of the main LNG import points in Europe. France and Spain, each have seven LNG terminals - the most in Europe.
At the same time, France imports more LNG from Russia, while importing less from other suppliers, including the US, Angola, Cameroon, Egypt, and Nigeria.
Russian LNG prices are not publicly disclosed, but they are often sold at a slightly lower price, Jason Feer - Global Business Intelligence Director at energy consulting firm Poten and Partners - said.
It is worth noting that the additional gas imports are not used by households or industries in France. Gas demand in France has decreased by 9% in the first half of this year compared to last year. Meanwhile, French gas exports to Belgium via pipeline have increased by nearly 10% in the first six months of the year, according to Kpler. It is unclear how much of that export is Russian LNG.
According to Feer, "that shows that people are making money from this trade".
Russia's largest LNG project is located on the Yamal Peninsula in the Arctic Circle, a joint venture with TotalEnergies, which owns 20%. Under a contract signed in 2018, TotalEnergies committed to buying 4 million tons of gas from it every year.
TotalEnergies said that they have a legal obligation to respect their contracts and will do so "as long as European governments consider Russian gas necessary for EU energy security".
The company emphasized that only when new sanctions are applied can new transactions be suspended.
However, Savytskyi of the Razom We Stand organization called on the EU to impose a complete ban on this product. He said that TotalEnergies "should not have the freedom to keep Europe dependent on Russian gas".
