Iran War Made Belgium Wholly Dependent on Russia for LNG in July

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(Bloomberg) — Belgium became wholly dependent on Russia for imports of liquefied natural gas last month as the war in the Middle East caused a slump in supply to Europe. 

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Most buyers on the continent have been holding off from purchasing LNG for winter stockpiling due to stubbornly high gas prices caused by the disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. 

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While Belgium’s imports from Russia were also lower than earlier this year, the figures complicate energy policy in the European Union, which has imposed a ban on Russian LNG starting next year.

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Overall LNG flows to Belgium — Europe’s No. 5 importer of the fuel last year — tumbled more than 40% in July from a year earlier, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The country purchased about 0.4 million tons of the fuel from Russia, the data show. It also receives pipeline gas from Norway and the UK. 

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EU members should already be reducing their LNG purchases from Russia, with a prohibition on short-term deals in place since April before the full ban takes effect next year. Instead, volumes have jumped as buyers sought alternatives to supplies from the Middle East.

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Europe received 16% more Russian LNG in the first half of 2026 compared with a year earlier, paying €5.96 billion ($6.9 billion) in total led by France, Belgium and Spain, according to Urgewald, a German nonprofit. 

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Russia remains the EU’s second biggest supplier of LNG after the US, and some industry watchers have already questioned the ban if supply disruptions from the Middle East continue. Europe’s low gas stockpiles for the upcoming winter — currently at the lowest seasonal level in records going back to 2009 — make the situation even more challenging. 

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So far, officials in Brussels have said the plan to ban Russian gas next year remains in place. The 27-nation bloc last month granted an exception for transporting Russian LNG to third countries, easing risks for global shipments. 

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The last time Russia was Belgium’s only LNG supplier was at the start of 2021, when European economies were just starting to recover from the Covid pandemic and before Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

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