The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced on Friday that European imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are expected to increase by a quarter this year as the continent needs to make up for a drop in gas supply by pipeline amid rising demand due to weather conditions.

L'AIE indicated that “over the whole of 2025, European LNG imports are expected to increase by 25%, or around 33 billion cubic meters (bcm)”. This increase will be due to a drop in pipeline supply from Russia, higher domestic demand and storage injection requirements, and greater exports to Ukraine. European LNG imports increased by 23%, or more than 9 billion cubic meters, in the first three months of the year. The European Union's gas reserves have ended winter with only 35 billion cubic meters of gas in stock, i.e. a filling level of 34%, which will have to be filled to 90% before next winter.