The European Commission's (EC) report on the gas market showed the highest ever volume of LNG in 2019 imported by the European Union at 108 billion cubic meters (bcm). The amount marks 27 percent of total gas imports and 22 percent of the EU's gas consumption.
The top 3 LNG suppliers to Europe last year were Qatar, Russia, and the US. In 2019, 30 bcm of LNG supplied by Qatar to the EU. Russia supplied 21 bcm and the US supplied 17 bcm.
Up by 42 percent y-o-y in Q4 2019, EU LNG imports showed a significant increase. Amid well-supplied global LNG markets, prices in different regions remained aligned, enabling plentiful LNG influx to Europe. The slumped demand for LNG in many Asian markets amid increasing global LNG supply also helped the increase of LNG imports in Europe.
In Q4 2019, the EU LNG import reached 30.4 bcm, marking a y-o-y increase of 42 percent compared to the same period in 2018. The US became the leading LNG supply source for the EU in Q4 2019, ensuring 25 percent of the total imports, ahead of Qatar (23 percent), Russia (19 percent) and Nigeria (11 percent).
