Russian LNG exports to Europe fall amid war in Ukraine, says Reuters

It is stated that Europe increased purchases of LNG from global producers in 2023 while sharply reducing the import of Russian pipeline gas in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The total LNG exports from Russia last year decreased by 6% to 31 million tons due to planned maintenance at plants in the summer.

However, in December 2023, Russian LNG exports reached a record level of 3.2 million tons, with 1.9 million tons attributed to the Yamal LNG project.

More about LNG exports

Reuters writes that the largest Russian LNG producer, Novatek, supplied the majority of exports, shipping 18.7 million tons from the Yamal LNG project in the Arctic and 800,000 tons from Cryogas-Vysotsk in the Baltic Sea.

The Sakhalin-2 project led by Gazprom in the Russian Pacific reduced LNG exports by 10% to 10.1 million tons in 2023.

The mid-tonnage project Gazprom LNG Portovaya, launched in September 2022, exported 1.4 million tons of LNG in 2023, mainly to Turkey and Greece, although three shipments went to China, one of them via the Northern Sea Route through the Arctic.

Issues with LNG supplies in Russia

It was previously reported that the start of gas supplies from the latest Russian Arctic LNG-2 would be delayed after the company declared force majeure due to U.S. sanctions.

Later, Reuters reported that U.S. sanctions were creating a serious obstacle to Russia's plans to increase exports of liquefied natural gas through the Arctic route to compensate for the reduction in pipeline gas exports to Europe.