The European Union reduced its combined pipeline gas and LNG imports by 18% between 2021 and 2024, as consumption slumped by 20%, a gas flow tracking tool of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) showed on Wednesday.
For a large part of these four years to 2024, Europe had to contend with record-high natural gas prices in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Households and businesses consumed much less natural gas in 2022 and 2023 as high prices hit consumers very hard. European energy-intensive industries such as cement, fertilizers, and steel-making were curtailing production capacity and idling factories and production units amid spiking energy costs.
As a result, EU natural gas consumption fell by 20% in the period 2021 through 2024.
Total natural gas imports also dropped by 18%.
“EU countries’ reliance on gas pipeline imports and LNG shipments means they are exposed to geopolitical issues and supply disruptions. However, they have mitigated this dependence by curbing gas consumption, diversifying import sources, shifting gas flows and installing more renewables,” said Ana Maria Jaller-Makarewicz, lead energy analyst, Europe, at IEEFA.
But the decreased dependence on natural gas was not only a choice—it was mostly the result of struggling industry and spiking energy bills.
With prices stabilizing in 2024, the bloc’s combined imports of Russian pipeline gas and LNG jumped by 19.5%, IEEFA’s estimates showed.
Last year, Norway was the EU’s top pipeline gas supplier while the United States was its biggest LNG supplier, data from Eurostat showed.
In the first quarter of 2025, Norway supplied 30% of the EU’s gas and LNG, followed by the U.S. with 25%, Russia with 14%, and Algeria with 13%, according to the data tracked by the IEEFA.
Toward the end of the 2024/2025 winter, Europe took advantage of weak Asian demand and boosted its LNG imports to the highest level ever for this time of the year, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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