Libya’s gas exports to the EU decline by 30% in 2025

European imports of Libyan natural gas fell sharply in 2025, as reported by the Libya Review via RIA Novosti on January 11. Data analysed by RIA Novosti, drawing on figures from energy research firm Bruegel, show purchases from Libya dropped by nearly one third compared with the previous year.

The EU imported 981 million cubic metres of Libyan gas in 2025, a decline of 31.8 percent year on year. Libya remains a relatively minor contributor to Europe’s overall gas imports even as European demand patterns continue to evolve as the continent seeks to further reduce its dependence on Russian energy.

Libya’s sole pipeline link to the European Union is the Green Stream pipeline, a subsea conduit that carries Libyan gas from the Mellitah processing complex, on Libya’s western coast, across the Mediterranean, to Sicily in Italy. This infrastructure, with theoretical capacity of around 8–11 billion cubic metres per year, has been central to Libya’s energy exports to Europe, but operational setbacks have frequently reduced actual flow rates well below potential levels. In February 2025, shipments through Green Stream to Italy, Libya’s only European customer, dropped to a record low of 1.25 million cubic metres per day.

The United States delivered 82.9 billion cubic metres, a significant 61.4 percent increase year on year. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU has moved to increase its ability to import Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), from countries such as the US,  in order to reduce its reliance on pipeline gas from Russia.

Imports from Algeria totalled 38.6 billion cubic metres in 2025, a decline of 6.6 percent compared to 2024. Algeria supplies Europe through a network of pipeline and LNG routes, including the Trans-Mediterranean pipeline via Tunisia to Italy and the Medgaz pipeline directly to Spain. Algeria has maintained a steadier export profile to the EU compared to Libya and is regarded as one of Europe’s largest external gas suppliers, regularly delivering significantly greater volumes than Libya.

Libya’s gas exports to Europe remain constrained by instability and limited infrastructure, in contrast Algeria has expanded its role as a key supplier, benefiting from Europe’s efforts to replace Russian gas following the Russia–Ukraine war. Despite the reduction in exports to the EU, Libya and Europe continued to deepen their energy relationship last year, such as in November 2025 when Libya and the EU signed a new partnership agreement to expand sustainability transition projects across Libya’s energy sector.

Libya’s reduced exports to the EU reflect a combination of factors, including ongoing issues with production reliability, infrastructure constraints and domestic political instability which have negatively impacted the attractiveness of the industry to foreign investors. Despite this, Shell and BP reopened their offices in Libya in 2025, signalling a potential revitalisation of the country’s energy sector in 2026.

Libya Review via RIA Novosti, Istituto Affari Internazionali, NS Energy, Maghrebi.org