Russia is using a single icebreaker to be able to continue exporting liquefied natural gas from a sanctioned project in the Arctic during the winter.
Points of attention
- Russia is utilizing the icebreaking tanker Christophe De Margerie to navigate frozen areas in the Arctic and maintain LNG exports from the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 plant.
- The single operational vessel in Russia’s shadow LNG fleet enables the country to continue its LNG exports to China, its primary buyer, despite Western sanctions.
- The innovative use of the icebreaker allows the Arctic LNG 2 plant to continue operating at approximately 25% capacity, contributing to Russia’s efforts to strengthen LNG sales amidst sanctions.
Russia continues LNG exports from sanctioned station in the Arctic
According to Bloomberg, the icebreaking tanker Christophe De Margerie docked at the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 plant on Monday and is preparing to export its third shipment since December 20.
The tanker is the only operational vessel in Russia’s shadow LNG fleet capable of navigating frozen areas year-round, the publication notes. In winter, the ice around the Arctic LNG 2 plant becomes too thick for conventional vessels to pass, and last month one of the tankers was forced to suspend an attempt to load LNG because it could not approach the terminal due to the ice.
Instead, the Christophe De Margerie tanker, built on the Arc7 model, has already delivered the last two cargoes to the Saam floating storage facility in the Murmansk region in western Russia. The fuel from this storage facility can be loaded onto conventional vessels and delivered to China, the only buyer of Russian sanctioned LNG. This trade is likely to continue until the opening of the shorter eastern sea route when the ice melts in the summer.
The continued exports are a boost for Russia, which is struggling to boost LNG sales amid tightening Western sanctions and the loss of the European market as its main buyer. Arctic LNG 2 was forced to significantly cut production last winter due to a lack of shipping vessels and overcrowded storage facilities.
According to the media resource, the single icebreaker allows Arctic LNG 2 to operate at about 25% of its current capacity. Last month, Russia completed construction of the first domestic ice-class LNG tanker, the Alexei Kosygin, which is heading to the Arctic from the country's Far East. The vessel could also help increase exports from the same plant.
Arctic LNG 2, Saam and Christophe De Margerie were sanctioned by the administration of former US President Joe Biden.
