European imports of US LNG reached a record high of 6.7 million tons in January – 11.7% more than the previous peak.
In January 2025, global imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) reached their highest level in a year at 38.12 million tons. The increase is mainly due to increased demand in Europe, which rose from 10.87 million tons in December to 11.82 million tons in January – the highest level since April 2023. The development reflects Europe’s efforts to replace Russian pipeline gas with LNG.
Russian gas has not been flowing through Ukrainian pipelines since January 1, 2025, as the transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine expired at the end of 2024 and was not extended. Ukraine wants to prevent Russia from generating additional revenue through transit fees, which could potentially be used to finance the war. The decision led to the gas flow to Europe via Ukraine being stopped.
In contrast, Asian LNG imports fell to 24.48 mt in January due to a milder winter and high spot prices, which dampened demand in countries such as China, Japan and South Korea.
European natural gas prices remained at a high level, which further encouraged the detour of LNG supplies from Asia to Europe. The shifts in the global LNG market underline the ongoing geopolitical tensions and Europe’s efforts to diversify its energy supply and reduce its dependence on Russian gas.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, US President Donald Trump emphasized his desire to supply Europe with US gas and announced that he would speed up the approval process for corresponding LNG projects in the US. A significant proportion of the LNG produced in the USA comes from the environmentally harmful and controversial fracking process. (rup)