Bloomberg said the EU had chosen the wrong time to ban LNG imports from Russia

The European Union (EU) is imposing a ban on the import of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), while member states cannot replenish their depleted reserves due to the disruption of global supplies after the start of the US and Israeli military operation against Iran. This was reported by Bloomberg on April 24.

According to the newspaper, excluding the possibility of a return to Russian supplies for political reasons, Brussels urges Europeans to prioritize replenishing the tanks emptied over the winter. At the same time, Europe is abandoning a valuable supplier during the gas injection season, while the price of LNG in the region has jumped by 40%, a fifth of the world's reserves are trapped in the Persian Gulf, and in the near future the continent will face growing competition with demand in Asia.

The termination of supplies from Russia may create problems for European countries, where, according to the EU, Moscow provides about 12% of LNG needs. Analyses by Wood Mackenzie Ltd. and Energy Aspects Ltd have shown that only the ban on short–term purchases on the spot market, which comes into force on April 25, will deprive the block of approximately 2.8-3.5 million tons of LNG per year, which will account for about 3% of total imports into the block last year.

According to Tom Purdy, a leading LNG analyst at Energy Aspects, if the situation worsens, the European Commission (EC) may declare a state of emergency and temporarily resume purchases of Russian fuel on the spot market. However, the expert believes that such a scenario is more likely to be possible in 2027, when the ban on supplies under long-term contracts will come into force. Returning to Russian supplies now, immediately after their ban, would be a strong "political blow."

So much for gas: Europe increases purchases of Russian LNG

Supplies via Turkish pipelines have already exceeded their design capacity.

At the same time, on April 17, it was noted that by the end of February 2026, Russia took the second place among suppliers of liquefied natural gas to Europe, behind the United States. The share of Russian supplies was 14%, and their cost is estimated at about 454 million euros, which is almost twice as low as in February 2025.

On April 13, Claudio Descalzi, CEO of the Italian oil and gas company Eni, called on the EU to reconsider its plans to gradually ban Russian gas imports from the beginning of 2027. According to him, it is unclear how and with what the EU will be able to replace 20 billion cubic meters of Russian gas, which "provides vital flexibility for the operation of power plants in the country."