The rise in exports to Europe came even as Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country could divert gas away from the region, as the European Union imposed a ban on imports of Russian pipeline gas by late-2027 and new short-term Russian LNG contracts from late-April this year.
In January, EU countries gave their final approval to ban Russian gas imports by late-2027.
Total exports from Novatek’s Yamal LNG plant in the January-March period was down two per cent year-on-year at 4.8 million tonnes. All tankers from the plant were dispatched to Europe so far this year, according to the preliminary data.
Asia-oriented Sakhalin-2, controlled by Gazprom, exported 2.8 million tonnes in the first three months of the year, up from 2.7 million tonnes during the same period last year.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Diti Pujara)