Russia ships LNG to China despite US sanctions - Вloomberg
Russia supplies gas to China bypassing US sanctions (photo: Getty Images)
A Russian liquefied natural gas export plant has delivered its first shipment to China since the United States imposed sanctions in January. This marks another sign of deepening energy cooperation between Beijing and Moscow, Bloomberg reports.
Data collected by Bloomberg indicates that the vessel Valera, which loaded a cargo in October from Gazprom PJSC's Portovaya facility on the Baltic Sea, arrived at the Beihai import terminal in southern China on Monday.
Both the vessel and the Portovaya facility were sanctioned by the administration of former US President Joe Biden to hinder Russia's plans to increase LNG exports.
China, which does not recognize unilateral sanctions, has increasingly been purchasing blacklisted Russian gas in recent months, strengthening the energy ties between the two countries.
Beijing has also ignored broader pressure from US President Donald Trump to stop buying Russian oil. This matter is expected to become a key point in trade negotiations between Washington and New Delhi this week.
Russia has two relatively small LNG export plants on the Baltic Sea, including the Vysotsk plant operated by Novatek PJSC, which is also on the US blacklist.
Another sanctioned Russian plant — the Arctic LNG 2 facility in Siberia — began supplying fuel to Beihai at the end of August.
In mid-October, satellite images showed a tanker loading at the Portovaya station and transferring fuel to another vessel registered to a Hong Kong company based near Malaysia.
This vessel, known as CCH Gas, transmitted false location signals and was observed by satellites near China last month. Its current whereabouts are unclear.
Previously, the media reported that Russia has focused on increasing natural gas exports to China, supplying gas to Chinese buyers at discounted prices.
