Netherlands vows to halt Russian energy imports

By Semir Sejfovic

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (AA) - The Netherlands pledged Wednesday to halt all energy imports from Russia due to its war with Ukraine.

The country has continued to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia, which it has been distributing to other European Union member states, but now it wants to end all exceptions, said Energy Minister Rob Jetten.

"The Netherlands stopped signing new contracts for LNG imports from Russia this year without announcing the decision and it's working on winding down pre-existing contracts," said Jetten.

The Netherlands is the fourth largest buyer of Russian LNG in Europe, and the decision could have a broader impact on other European countries. According to Eurostat, household gas prices in the EU were the highest in Sweden (€0.2216 per kWh) and the lowest in Hungary (€0.0291 per kWh) in the first half of 2022.

"We have to do what we can do to make sure there is no Russian fossil energy in our system, and we have been successful on coal, pipeline gas and oil,” said Jetten.

The Netherlands’ imports of Russian LNG still account for 15% of total imports of the fuel alternative, but only through agreements signed before 2023.

Jetten added that the government is in talks with companies using the facilities to end pre-existing deals.

The Eemshaven terminal, with a capacity of 8 billion cubic meters, can import and process 24 billion cubic meters of LNG. The Rotterdam Gate Terminal can handle 16 billion cubic meters. However, no Russian cargoes arrived at Eemshaven and only one shipment per month docked at Rotterdam Gate since September, according to LNG tanker data by the terminals.

Other countries are also trying to end their reliance on Russian energy. The Spanish government appealed to LNG importers to avoid signing new purchases from Russia. EU energy ministers also endorsed a proposal allowing governments to temporarily prevent Russian exporters from using infrastructure capacity needed for the shipments.

Although EU policymakers expected all member states to comply and impose sanctions on Russia's energy sector, not all countries are on board. Hungary recently secured deals to expand gas flows from Russia and renewed a financing agreement, underscoring Budapest's rift with the bloc over the war in Ukraine.