MOSCOW, June 29 — The price of gas for the European Union (EU) has increased 2.5-fold since the introduction of large-scale sanctions against Russia — in just four years, from 2021 to 2025, it has increased twice as much as in the previous 20 years, according to RIA Novosti's calculations based on Eurostat data.
Thus, in April 2021, the average price of a thousand cubic metres of gas for the EU was €206 (RM1,021.70), and it rose to €523.5 (RM2,596.40) in April of this year.
At the same time, over the previous four years, the price of this type of fuel in the EU had increased by only 1.7 per cent: in April 2017, a thousand cubic metres could be purchased for €202.50 (RM1,004.34). Twenty years ago, in mid-spring 2000, a thousand cubic metres cost the EU €123.9 (RM614.51).
The main reason is the EU's reorientation towards liquefied natural gas (LNG) amid sanctions against Russia. In 2021, LNG accounted for only a third of all purchases by the union, but by 2025, it had already decreased to just slightly less than half. At the same time, the price of importing this type of fuel over the past four years has increased to €645.5 (RM3,201.49) from €257 (RM1,274.64).
The price of pipeline gas is still lower than liquefied gas, at €417 (RM2,068.19). In 2021, the EU purchased 1,000 cubic metres of pipeline gas for only €178.7 (RM886.30).
Thus, EU spending on gas in April 2025 increased to €8.05 billion (RM39.93 billion) from €3.5 billion (RM17.36 billion) four years earlier, despite an 8.5 per cent decrease in import volumes to 15.4 billion cubic metres.
— Bernama
