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Europe imported more liquefied natural gas from Russia’s leading LNG project than ever before in the first half of 2026, absorbing nearly all of the Siberian facility’s output months before an EU ban on Russian gas imports comes into effect.
EU purchases from Yamal LNG, which Russia’s privately owned Novatek controls, reached a record 9.89mn tonnes in the first six months of the year— 18 per cent more than in the same period last year, according to data from analytics company Kpler.
The figures underline the crucial role Europe still plays in keeping Russia’s flagship energy facility running as Moscow’s war against Ukraine drags through its fifth year.
Europe may have paid as much as €6bn for these shipments, according to estimates by Urgewald, a non-governmental organisation.
The main European buyers were France, Belgium and Spain, which imported 3.6mn, 2.9mn and 2.7mn tonnes respectively from Yamal in the first half of 2026, the Kpler data shows.
Sebastian Rötters, a sanctions campaigner at Urgewald, called the figures “stark”, especially as they “are not happening in the vacuum” and reflected the period since Russia intensified its assault on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and civilian sites.
EU rules already prohibit purchases of Russian LNG under short-term contracts, meaning each Yamal cargo bound for Europe requires confirmation from the importing country’s customs authority that the sale was made under a long-term contract.
From January 1 2027, an EU ban on long-term Russian LNG gas imports comes into effect. This will force Russia to seek alternative routes. Pipeline gas will be prohibited later that year.
Europe’s willingness to receive Yamal cargoes has been crucial for the project, which is located in the Russian Arctic and depends on a small fleet of specialised Arc7 ice-class tankers.
The amount the facility can ship depends heavily on the quick turnaround of such vessels in European ports, whereas the alternative of taking the Northern Sea Route to reach Asia is riskier and takes much longer.
While Europe received more LNG from Yamal in the first half of the year, Asia-bound volumes fell 74 per cent to just over 510,000 tonnes.
Shipments from Yamal to Asia typically rise in the summer but lower volumes have headed east so far this year. This is partly because some international shipping companies, insurance firms and financiers are concerned about exposure to EU sanctions, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The ice-class vessels carrying Yamal’s output also still rely heavily on European shipyards for repairs, including services provided by Damen’s yard in Brest, France and Fayard A/S in Denmark.
“Yamal LNG depends on a small, specialised fleet, European ports and European services to keep exports flowing. Europe continues to provide all three,” said Rötters of Urgewald.
Inaugurated by President Vladimir Putin in 2017, Yamal remains Russia’s largest producer of liquefied gas, with a design capacity of 17.4mn tonnes a year, although actual output often exceeds that level.
In addition to Novatek, the majority owner, France’s TotalEnergies and China’s CNPC hold stakes in the project.
In February, TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné said the group, which holds long-term export contracts at Yamal, might be forced to stop exporting gas not only to the EU but from the project altogether, citing “ambiguities” in the EU ban.
