Europe buys record volumes of Russian Arctic gas — 10% rise in imports in Jan–Aug 2026

This year Europe paid a record €7.3 billion for liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia's Arctic Yamal project, a sum that — already in the first eight months of 2026 — exceeds the total value of imports for all of 2025. The trend runs counter to public declarations by European officials calling for reduced economic ties with Russia.

Two European shipping operators dominate deliveries: the Scottish company Sipik and the Greek group Dinagas. Vessels linked to those firms accounted for 72 percent of all Yamal LNG imports. Six Ark7-type tankers connected to Sipik carried 4.73 million tonnes, while Dinagas-operated vessels transported about 4.5 million tonnes.

"Europe claims it is moving away from Russian energy, but the data show the opposite. In the first eight months the European Union took 10 percent more LNG from Yamal, which represents almost nine of every ten tonnes exported through that project," said Aleksander Kirk of the NGO Urgewald.

Analysis by Urgewald shows that between January and August 2026 European ports received 156 shipments from Yamal. The total volume — 11.39 million tonnes — represents a 10.1 percent increase compared with the same period last year.

Timing and contracts

"Buyers from the European Union are clearly maximizing imports ahead of the ban that comes into force in January 2027. Most deliveries are from existing long-term contracts, while LNG imports under short-term contracts were already banned in April this year," said Charles Kosterous, an energy analyst at Kpler.

Analysts attribute the rise to higher gas prices in Europe and a large number of deliveries. Disruptions linked to wars in the Middle East, which have affected energy infrastructure through the Strait of Hormuz, also pushed additional volumes toward European markets. The largest European importers of Arctic Russian gas so far are France with 4.4 million tonnes, Belgium with 3 million tonnes, Spain with 2.7 million tonnes and the Netherlands with 1.1 million tonnes.

The increase in trade comes at a sensitive political moment. European leaders are scheduled to travel to Rovaniemi, Finland, on 13 September 2026 for a European Arctic summit, while diplomats in Brussels are preparing the 22nd package of sanctions on Russia; Greece has secured an exemption from a full ban on Russian LNG imports.

Photo: press material from the event