At the same time, Russian LNG imports into the EU rose by around a third to 14.1 million mt (19 Bcm), but it was LNG from other sources -- the US in particular -- that helped fill some of the gap left by lost Russian gas.

Brent fell 30 cents to $82.75 a barrel, WTI dropped by 38 cents to $75.98 a barrel.

Angola is among the hardest hit at the moment, with daily exports to China falling 27% so far this month compared with whole of February last year.

Overall gas use in the 27-nation European Union plunged by 19.3% from August to January compared with the five-year average for the same period,

Brent rose 70 cents, or 0.8%, to $83.70 a barrel, WTI was at $76.89 a barrel.

Refiners in India, which rarely used to buy Russian oil because of costly logistics, have emerged as Russia's key oil client

Brent dropped 96 cents, or 1.13%, to $84.18 per barrel, WTI shed 97 cents, a 1.24% loss, to $77.52.

In October, OPEC and its partners took the unusual step of assigning fixed production targets for a full year ahead. Key officials have indicated they intend to leave the quotas unchanged throughout 2023, and the comments from Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman are the most emphatic to date.

Gas markets are in “better shape than many expected one year ago,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said. “But the reality is that winter 2023-2024 is likely to be the real test.”

Brent slid $1.13, or 1.3%, to $84.45 a barrel, WTI dropped $1.31, or 1.7% to $77.75.