EnergyBrief
EU Yamal LNG purchases cost estimated €8.7 billion through October
Urgewald estimates that October’s EU Yamal LNG purchase volume fell 11% from September, while estimated payments rose 2.6%, the Kyiv Independent reports.
The numbers
- Urgewald estimate of EU purchases of Yamal LNG, as reported by the Kyiv Independent
- 8.7 EUR billion, estimated
- Estimated EU purchases of Yamal LNG, Urgewald/Kpler via the Kyiv Independent
- 705,591 metric tonnes
- Estimated fall in EU Yamal LNG purchase volume, Urgewald/Kpler via the Kyiv Independent
- 11 % lower
- Estimated EU Yamal LNG payment change, Urgewald/Kpler via the Kyiv Independent
- 2.6 % increase, estimated
- CREA’s change in EU import volume of all Russian LNG, from a low August base
- 60 % increase, estimated
- CREA’s share of September EU Russian LNG imports unloaded at French ports
- 72 % of imports, estimated
EU purchases of liquefied natural gas from Russia’s Yamal project cost an estimated €8.7 billion from January through October 2026, according to Urgewald figures reported by the Kyiv Independent.
Urgewald based its estimate on data from Kpler, the Kyiv Independent’s Martin Fornusek reported on November 12. The estimate for the first ten months of 2026 is more than one-fifth higher than the group’s figure for the whole of 2025.
Fornusek reported an Urgewald estimate that EU purchases of Yamal LNG in October amounted to 705,591 metric tonnes, 11% below September. Estimated payments for those purchases rose 2.6% over the same month-to-month comparison, according to Urgewald.
An earlier analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) examined a broader group: all Russian LNG imports to the EU. It estimated September 2026 volume was 60% higher than August, when the level was at a low point. Even after that rebound, CREA ranked September the fourth-lowest monthly volume since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
CREA estimated 72% of September EU imports of Russian LNG were unloaded at French ports. The centre says its monthly reports use end-of-month snapshots, and earlier figures may change in later reports.
What we don't know yet
- What will full-year 2026 EU Yamal LNG purchase volumes and estimated payments show relative to 2025?
- Where did LNG unloaded at EU ports ultimately go, including any volumes retained in the EU or moved onward?
- How might later revisions to shipment and valuation data change these estimates?
Sources cited
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