Russia’s Gazprom has begun supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China from its medium-tonnage plant in the Leningrad Region near the Portovaya compressor station, according Vedomosti’s report, citing data from analytical company Kpler. In mid-August, a gas tanker loaded with LNG left for China via the Northern Sea Route and will arrive at China in late September. According to analysts interviewed by Vedomosti, LNG supplies from Portovaya to China could now be more profitable than supplies to Europe, because the Chinese may pay better prices.
The LNG production, storage and shipping complex near the Portovaya compressor station, with a design capacity of 1.5 million tons per year, was commissioned in September 2022. China’s demand for Russian LNG is growing. According to the General Administration of Customs of China, LNG shipments from Russia increased by 43.9% to 6.5 million tons in 2022. In the first seven months of this year, shipments increased by 62.8% year on year to 4.5 million tons.
Finam Financial Group Analyst Sergey Kaufman noted to Interfax that, in the future, the Chinese market could become important for Novatek’s Arctic LNG-2, Murmansky LNG and Obsky LNG projects, as well as the YATEK Yakutia LNG project.
