Spain resumes imports of Russian LNG after a month break

Spain in October resumed imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) after a month-long break, receiving from Russia 2,086 GWh – 6.4% of the total gas revenues to the country, follows from the data of the operator of the gas transmission system Enagas.

There were no supplies of Russian LNG in September. In January-October, Spain received 43,662 GWh of LNG from Russia, accounting for 14.3% of the total supply during this period.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albarez said in September that Madrid intends to abandon Russian LNG from January 1, 2027, despite the existing long-term contracts of Spanish companies. According to him, Spain intends to comply with the restrictions of the European Union (EU).

The EU Council in January approved a ban on imports of Russian LNG from January 1, 2027. The Council said in a statement that pipeline gas supplies from Russia would be banned from September 30 of the same year. Hungary and Slovakia voted against the decision.

Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov after the decision said:

“That is their problem. They always talked about diversifying gas supplies. And now they are actually limiting themselves to this diversification. That is, they are abandoning the most competitive Russian pipe gas or liquefied gas and are dooming themselves to dependence on a small number of gas sources. In particular, the United States.”.