The European Union increased its imports of Russian liquefied natural gas by 6.7 percent during the first ten months of 2026, according to figures compiled by think tank Bruegel and reported by Russian state news agency TASS.
Total Russian LNG deliveries to the 27-member bloc reached 17.43 billion cubic metres between January and October. That volume is up from the 16.33 billion cubic metres imported during the equivalent ten-month period in 2025.
Across all international suppliers, the European Union purchased approximately 12.19 billion cubic metres of LNG on external markets in October. That represented a decrease compared to the same month last year, when total EU purchases stood at 13.16 billion cubic metres.
October import breakdown
The United States served as the leading supplier of liquefied natural gas to European buyers last month, delivering 8.709 billion cubic metres. Additional volumes arrived from Trinidad and Tobago, while Russia supplied 975 million cubic metres of the fuel to the European market during the month.
Spain also returned to purchasing Russian liquefied natural gas in October after taking zero deliveries the month before. Spanish importers had received no shipments of the fuel in September, but deliveries rose to 2,086 gigawatt-hours in October. The country remains one of Europe's primary destinations for seaborne gas cargoes.
Liquefied natural gas is natural gas cooled to approximately minus 160 degrees Celsius into liquid form, allowing it to be transported by specialised sea tankers without reliance on fixed pipeline networks. Spain possesses the largest network of regasification terminals in Europe, where imported liquid cargo is converted back into gas to enter domestic distribution systems.
Turkish fuel negotiations
In Turkey, officials stated that purchases of Russian gas are costing Ankara too much money. Turkish authorities said the country is actively exploring options to secure natural gas supplies at lower prices.
Turkey relies on foreign energy imports to satisfy domestic consumption, receiving fuel through maritime LNG shipments and undersea pipeline routes across the Black Sea. Bruegel, an independent economic think tank based in Brussels, monitors European energy data and policy as nations balance seasonal storage needs with changing global supply chains. The organisation tracks continental gas flows and storage levels as European governments manage their energy supplies.
