Sanctions derail Russia’s plans to increase liquefied natural gas production
Illustrative photo: Sanctions have hit all Russian liquefied gas projects (Getty Images)
Western sanctions have forced Russia to postpone its plans to triple liquefied natural gas (LNG) production for several years, states Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Novak, according to Bloomberg.
Novak stated that Russia had planned to reach an annual LNG production level of 100 million tons. At the same time, he noted that "clearly, due to sanctions restrictions, there will be a delay of some years" in achieving this target.
Producing 100 million tons of supercooled fuel, which Russia had planned to reach by 2030, would have allowed the aggressor country to capture 20% of the global market.
However, Russia will have to postpone these plans due to sanctions imposed by Western countries, including the US, specifically targeting Russian LNG.
The US has blacklisted all of Russia’s LNG projects, both current and future, with the exception of Yamal LNG. In addition, the sanctions also affected the fleet involved in supplying Russian fuel to other countries.
Russian gas exports to China
Earlier reports indicated that Russia has focused on increasing natural gas exports to China, with Beijing purchasing Russian gas at discounted prices.
Notably, a Russian LNG export plant recently delivered its first shipment to China since the US sanctions were imposed in January. This marks another sign of deepening energy cooperation between Beijing and Moscow.
RBC-Ukraine also reported that Russia’s LNG exports to China reached a record level in November, driven by buyers’ willingness to overlook the risk of Western sanctions in order to access cheaper fuel.
