As a result of May this year, European countries imported record volumes of liquefied natural gas (LNG). We are talking about importing more than 12 billion cubic meters of this type of fuel since January, the region received a total of 56.2 billion cubic meters, to witness European Gas Infrastructure (GIE) data.
The previous high was reached in April 2023. Thus, European countries are importing record amounts of liquefied natural gas for the second month in a row. At the same time, since January this year, European Union (EU) countries have purchased 7% more of this type of fuel compared to the same period in 2022.
According to the European Network of Gas Transport System Operators (ENTSOG), as of the end of May 2023, LNG ranks first in terms of share among European countries’ gas resources. The share of this type of fuel is 35%, imports from the North Sea (mainly from Norway) – 26%, gas use from European underground storage – only 12%.
1 June, currently gas cost on London ICE exchange with delivery in July sank up to $268 per thousand cubic meters. This figure was the lowest level in the last two years. Such low prices have not been recorded on the trading floor since September 2021.