The world's imports of liquefied natural gas are set to jump to the highest in a year in January as Europe's winter demand draws cargoes away from top-consuming region Asia.

Russia exported a record volume of liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to calculations by RBC based on data from the analytics firm Kpler. The country shipped 33.6 million tons abroad last year, an increase of four percent from 2023 and two percent more than in 2022,

Energy ministers from Belgium, France and Spain, whose ports receive shipments from Russian LNG tankers, have insisted that very little of the gas arriving is used domestically and that most is piped on to other EU countries. In November, Germany ordered its state-operated import terminals to reject any Russian LNG cargoes.

Tankers carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) are increasingly changing course in the Atlantic and heading to European ports. This shift results from growing gas demand in Europe, triggered by the loss of Russian pipeline supplies through Ukraine and cooler weather,

The European Commission refrained from proposing a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas in its latest sanctions package as EU member states expressed concerns over securing alternative energy sources.

Germany's imports of Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) via other EU countries continue to rise despite restrictions on direct shipments, the Financial Times wrote on Jan. 28, citing a report by Belgian,