A full phaseout of Russian liquefied natural gas is possible for some EU states, energy commissioner says

• The EU's stockpile of natural gas is at the highest level for April since 2011.
• That means some EU states could phase out imports of Russian LNG, the bloc's energy commissioner said.
• It would also entail increasing the share of renewables and further diversifying sources, Kadri Simson told the FT.

The European Union's stockpile of natural gas is at the highest level for the month of April since 2011, and that could help some member states break free from Russian supplies.

Early this month, storage hit 55.7% of capacity — about 20 percentage points above the five-year average — and the figure has since ticked up to 56.5% in the past few weeks, according to industry group Gas Infrastructure Europe.

"The EU's gas storages are more than half full, which means we finished this heating season in a comfortable position," Kadri Simson, the EU's energy commissioner told the Financial Times. "By increasing the share of renewables and further diversifying sources, full phaseout from Russian LNG will be possible for some member states."

After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, the Kremlin cut off its pipeline natural gas exports to Europe as retaliation for sanctions placed on its oil and petroleum products. But the EU continued to import Russian liquefied natural gas, which is transported via ships.

Much of the supply went unused, however, thanks to a mild winter. Gas storage could reach 90% capacity by this summer, a level that's typically reached by November.

For now, the EU continues to purchase Russian LNG at a rate higher than in 2021. It remains Russia's second largest importer of the energy supply.

Previously, Simson has called for EU countries and companies to not sign any further LNG contracts with Russia, with the aim of ending the bloc's dependence on Russian energy supplies. 

But EU attempts to expand its LNG infrastructure — such as adding eight new regasification terminals in the next year — will really only make a difference mid-decade. 

For its part, Russian natural gas company Gazprom said Tuesday that volume of gas available on the European market will be greatly affected by competition for LNG.