German LNG imports rise significantly

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Hardly had Germany's first LNG terminal been put into operation when critical voices emerged: imports of liquefied natural gas by ship were far too expensive and would not catch on, it was said. And the initially sluggish utilization rates seemed to prove the skeptics right. However, almost three years after the opening of the first terminal in Wilhelmshaven show: LNG has found its place in Germany's gas supply. Nevertheless, experts do not expect any major expansion of LNG infrastructure in Europe for now.

German LNG imports have really picked up speed this year, according to data from the Federal Network Agency. By the end of October, 81,292 gigawatt-hours of gas had been imported. This is already significantly more than in the previous year, when German terminals supplied a total of 68,762 GWh. The average daily value increased by 43 percent compared to 2024, from 188 to 269 GWh per day.

LNG: Almost 10 percent of German gas imports

The super-cooled liquefied natural gas, which is currently regasified by special ships and then fed into the long-distance networks, currently accounts for about 9.8 percent of German gas imports. This may seem small at first glance, but given the short time since the first delivery, it is already a significant share. Of course, it only partially replaces the discontinued Russian gas imports of 314,207 GWh in 2022.

Germany's most important supplier countries are Norway with a share of 44.8 percent of all gas imports, the Netherlands with 24.6 percent, and Belgium with 20.2 percent. LNG is the fourth most important source. However, Germany's ability to manage without direct imports from Russia also has to do with the fact that gas demand has fallen massively since 2023. While 1.44 million GWh were imported in 2022, before the start of Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, only 863,643 GWh were imported in 2024. A higher total sum is emerging for this year, but it is also likely to be significantly below 2022.

Experts: Gas demand was overestimated

Despite the positive development of German LNG terminals, the US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) expects a significantly slowed further expansion of import infrastructure in Europe. Countries have overestimated future gas demand, according to a press release. The institute expects demand to fall by 15 percent between 2025 and 2030.

Since 2022, Europe has built or expanded 19 LNG terminals. With success: in the first half of the year, LNG imports on the continent increased by 24 percent compared to the previous year. The main beneficiary of this development is the USA, which supplies 57 percent of the imported liquefied natural gas—an increase of 46 percent year-on-year.

Russian gas via LNG ship

However, the notion that Europe has become more independent of Russia thanks to LNG is not entirely true. Quite the opposite, Russian gas is re-entering Europe as LNG through the back door, as IEEFA shows. Year-on-year, there has been a further increase in imports from Russia. It is mainly France (41 percent), Belgium (28 percent), and Spain (20 percent) that continue to buy gas from Russia in this way and, regarding Germany's main supplier countries, pass it on within the continent. EU countries have paid around 120 billion euros for Russian gas between 2022 and June 2025. This is set to end from January 2027, when an EU import ban comes into force.

(mki)