New analysis by German environmental group Urgewald, based on Kpler shipping data, found that the EU paid an estimated €7.28 billion for LNG from Russia’s Yamal project between 1 January and 5 September 2026, a figure that has already surpassed the €7.2 billion attributed to EU imports from Yamal LNG during the whole of 2025. During the first eight months of 2026, EU ports received 156 Yamal LNG cargoes carrying about 11.39 million tonnes, up 10.1% from 142 cargoes and 10.34 million tonnes over the same period a year earlier, even as Yamal’s worldwide exports fell 3.1% to 12.82 million tonnes. The EU’s share of the project’s global exports climbed from 78.2% to 88.9%, meaning Europe absorbed a substantially larger portion of Yamal output even as total volumes worldwide declined.
The Arctic trade depends on a specialized fleet of ice-class tankers, and vessels linked to two European shipping companies handled the bulk of the flows: Scotland’s Seapeak and Greek-linked Dynagas together managed 72% of all Yamal LNG exports through August, with Seapeak’s six Arc7 tankers carrying 65 cargoes totaling 4.73 million tonnes and Dynagas vessels transporting roughly 4.5 million tonnes. The findings land as European leaders gather in Finland on 13 September for the European Arctic Summit and as Brussels drafts its 22nd sanctions package, with Greece having already secured an exemption from a full ban on Russian LNG. France, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands were the largest importers of the Yamal cargoes, underscoring how European buyers and European-linked shipping remain central to sustaining Russia’s Arctic LNG trade despite the bloc’s stated goal of severing energy ties with Moscow.
Source: Euronews — https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/09/11/europe-spends-record-73bn-on-russian-arctic-gas-in-just-eight-months-surpassing-2025-total
