Russia overtook US as gas supplier to Europe in May

In May, gas imports from Russia to Europe exceeded supplies from the US for the first time in almost two years, despite attempts by European countries to abandon Russian fossil fuels, Report informs referring to the Financial Times.

In May, supply volumes were affected by one-off factors, including disruptions at a major US LNG exporter, and in June, Russia sent more gas through Türkiye ahead of planned repairs.

Demand for gas in Europe also remains relatively weak, with storage levels at a record high for this time of year.

Tom Marcek-Manser, head of gas analytics at the ICIS consulting company, noted that "such a turnaround is unlikely to last long," as Russia will be able to supply LNG to Asia via the Northern Sea Route in the summer. According to him, this will most likely lead to a reduction in the volume of supplies to Europe, while the production of LNG in the US has increased again.

The transit agreement between Ukraine and Russia also expires this year, which puts gas flows through this route at risk. The European Commission supports efforts to develop an investment plan to expand the capacity of the Southern Gas Corridor pipelines between the EU and Azerbaijan.

A high-ranking representative of the EU stated that supplies on this route are not yet enough to replace the 14 billion cubic meters of Russian gas that came through Ukraine.

EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said that during a trip to Japan, she raised concerns that LNG was being diverted from Europe to meet demand in Asia. Tokyo and Brussels have created an "early warning system" to monitor LNG shortages and agreed that countries should take energy-saving measures, she said.