Netherlands Plans to End LNG Imports From Russia, Minister Says

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(Bloomberg) — The Dutch government is working on ending all liquefied natural gas imports from Russia, according to Energy Minister Rob Jetten.

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The Netherlands stopped signing new contracts for LNG imports from Russia this year — without announcing the decision — and it’s working on winding down pre-existing contracts, he said in an interview at his office in The Hague.

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“We have to do what we can do to make sure there is no Russian fossil energy in our system, and we have been successful on coal, pipeline gas and oil,” Jetten said. “We are having a lot of conversations with the companies using the facilities” to phase out pre-existing LNG deals, he added. 

Europe has relied on imports of the fuel — primarily from the US and Qatar — to provide relief from its energy crisis after Russia cut most pipeline gas supplies to the region. Still, significant volumes of Russian LNG continue to flow to the continent, even amid the fallout over Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

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The move by the Netherlands would apply to both spot and long-term contracts. The nation is a transit country for gas supplies, meaning that the decision could have a broader European impact. 

The Netherlands still imports Russian LNG through older agreements contracts signed before 2023, which account for around 15% of its total imports. This year, it’s been Europe’s fourth-largest buyer of Russian LNG, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

The Dutch decision goes further than similar move by Spain, the biggest European buyer of LNG from Russia. LNG importers in Spain received a letter from the government in Madrid asking companies not to sign up to new purchases for Russian supplies. 

European Efforts

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The European Union is targeting a way for member states to have the option to effectively ban Russian LNG shipments without implementing new energy sanctions. The bloc’s energy ministers have endorsed a proposal that would allow governments to temporarily prevent Russian exporters from booking the infrastructure capacity needed for the shipments. 

While individual nations would still need consultations — including with other EU countries and the European Commission — to employ the mechanism, the tool could continue to reduce the flow of energy products from Russia.

The Netherlands can currently import and process 24 billion cubic meters of LNG. The Eemshaven terminal, which opened last year, has a capacity of 8 billion cubic meters. The Rotterdam Gate terminal can handle 16 billion cubic meters.

No Russian cargoes have arrived at Eemshaven since it opened, while one shipment a month has arrived at Gate since September, tanker-tracking data show. The government wants to expand import capacity at both facilities this year. 

—With assistance from Anna Shiryaevskaya.