The European Union has seen a significant decline in gas imports this year, with a 1.7-fold drop in the first eight months, bringing the total to €49.2 billion. This decrease is compounded by ongoing deindustrialization, with EU industrial production expected to fall by 21% from March 2022 to August 2024.
Data from Eurostat shows that Russia and Algeria were the only major suppliers to increase their market share in the EU’s gas imports in 2024. Other leading exporters, including Qatar, the UK, Nigeria, the US, and Norway, experienced sharp declines in supply. Qatar’s gas shipments fell by 2.8 times, the UK’s by 2.5 times, and Nigeria’s by 2 times. The US and Norway also saw substantial reductions in their exports, down by 1.8 and 1.7 times, respectively.
In contrast, Russia and Algeria had more modest declines in exports—22% and 24%, respectively—allowing them to significantly expand their presence in the EU market. Russia’s share of EU gas imports rose by 4.6 percentage points to 18.3%, while Algeria’s share increased by 4.9 percentage points to 21.3%.
Other countries also saw slight increases in their market share, including Peru (up 0.9 percentage points), Trinidad and Tobago (up 0.7 percentage points), Azerbaijan (up 0.65 percentage points), and Serbia (up 0.55 percentage points).
Despite these shifts, the United States remains the largest gas supplier to the EU, contributing 22% of total imports, slightly down from 22.9% the previous year.
Norway, the third-largest supplier, saw its share grow slightly to 12.5%, up from 12.3% last year, while the UK’s share dropped considerably from 12.5% to 8.4%.
