China Receives Third LNG Shipment From Sanctioned Russian Arctic Project

A third Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker carrying cargo from the U.S.-sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project has reached a Chinese port, ship-tracking data showed.

The tanker, Zarya, docked at Tieshan LNG Terminal in China’s southwestern Guangxi province, according to data from Kpler and LSEG. The vessel is carrying more than 160,000 cubic meters of LNG, loaded on July 30 at the Arctic LNG 2 facility in Gydan, northern Siberia, LSEG data indicated.

This delivery follows two previous shipments from the same sanctioned project. The first cargo, carried by the Arctic Mulan, arrived at the Beihai LNG terminal in late August.

A second shipment reached China over the past weekend, just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit and a military parade marking the end of World War II.

Arctic LNG 2, which is 60% owned by Russia’s Novatek, was designed to become one of Russia’s largest LNG plants, with an annual production target of 19.8 million metric tons. However, U.S. sanctions on the project have complicated its operations and global market prospects.

Despite sanctions on Russia’s LNG exports, China is still receiving shipments, showing continued energy cooperation between the two countries.

Reference: Reuters

Source: Maritime Shipping News