The European Union bought a record amount of gas from Russia 's largest natural gas project in the first four months of the year as the Iran war pushes Europe back towards the fuel it has been trying to phase out. The EU received 91 cargoes from Russia's Yamal LNG project between January and April, totalling 6.69 million tonnes – the highest volume for that period since the project was launched in December 2017, according to new analysis of shipping data published on Thursday by environmental group Urgewald. The bloc paid an estimated €3.88bn (£3.25bn) for the gas over the four months, based on benchmark market prices. The demand for Russian oil and gas has skyrocketed worldwide since the Iran war began . The closure of the Strait of Hormuz since late February has removed significant volumes of liquefied natural gas from global markets. The strait normally carries around a fifth of global LNG flows, leaving Europe with fewer alternatives and pushing benchmark gas prices sharply higher.…