The world's imports of liquefied natural gas are set to jump to the highest in a year in January as Europe's winter demand draws cargoes away from top-consuming region Asia.

Russia exported a record volume of liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to calculations by RBC based on data from the analytics firm Kpler. The country shipped 33.6 million tons abroad last year, an increase of four percent from 2023 and two percent more than in 2022,

Several US LNG cargo shipments originally heading to Asia are being diverted to Europe due to higher gas prices and greater demand in Europe.

The European Commission refrained from proposing a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas in its latest sanctions package as EU member states expressed concerns over securing alternative energy sources.

German national energy company Sefe bought 58 cargoes of Russian LNG through the French port of Dunkirk last year — more than six times the figure in 2023, according to a report by Belgian, German and Ukrainian NGOs.

Germany's imports of Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) via other EU countries continue to rise despite restrictions on direct shipments, the Financial Times wrote on Jan. 28, citing a report by Belgian,