FSUOGM: Belgium calls for coordinated approach to block Russian LNG imports

Belgium has followed the Netherlands in urging the EU to take tougher action on Russian LNG imports, stressing the need for the bloc to have a coordinated approach and adopt legislation to phase out the supplies faster.

The EU introduced the first restrictions on Russian LNG supplies in its 14th sanctions package, but targeting only LNG transhipments at the bloc’s ports and not the bloc’s own imports from the country. The transhipment ban is due to come into force at the end of March next year. Brussels also banned any participation in Russian LNG export projects.

A spokesperson for Belgian Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten was quoted as saying by Platts on September 26 that the minister had been urging coordinated action on Russian LNG imports for months. 

“As she has repeatedly pointed out, Europeans are fuelling [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war chest through their dependence on Russian fossil fuels,” the representative said. 

Any ban on Russian LNG imports at the EU level would require the support of heads of states and governments of member states to be introduced, although the bloc’s gas decarbonisation package does permit member states to restrict their own imports.

The European Commission is monitoring the share of Russian LNG in EU energy imports and is required to report any significant developments that occur in connection with sanctions by June 2025. The expectation is that the ban on transhipments will result in Russia delivering more gas to Europe instead of Asia.

The Zeebrugge LNG terminal in Belgium is one of the main hubs for Russian LNG transhipments in Europe. It receives specialised Arc7 ice-breaking LNG carriers that have brought cargoes from Russia’s Yamal LNG project. The cargoes are then unloaded onto conventional LNG vessels for onward delivery to Asia and other markets. This practice reduces costs and frees up shipping capacity.

The transhipment sanctions will mean that any Yamal LNG cargoes bound westward to Asia would have to be transported the entire way on board an ice-breaker. 

The Dutch government urged more sanctions to restrict Russian LNG supplies into the EU in late September, after recording an increase in its own imports from the country during recent months. Even though several countries have imposed national bans on Russian LNG imports, restrictions are likely to be ineffectual unless there is a Europe-wide ban, as otherwise imports will just shift to ports in those member states where national bans are not in place.

If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping the former Soviet Union’s oil and gas sector then please click here for NewsBase’s FSU Oil and Gas Monitor.