Page 5 - GLNG Week 01 2023
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GLNG COMMENTARY GLNG
country in the Far East. Moscow and Beijing are energy ties. In the case of the Far Eastern route,
also in talks to reach a contract to underpin a far new upstream investments will need to be made
more ambitious project – a pipeline to deliver 50 at fields off the coast of Sakhalin Island.
bcm per year of gas from the Russian Arctic to The 2014 contract for Power of Siberia took
China through Mongolia. This pipeline, Power considerable negotiation – the first serious dis-
of Siberia 2, would source gas from fields that cussions began over a decade ago. Russia also has
formerly served the European market. scarcer financial and technical resources since it
Chinese customs data showed in October was isolated by the West in response to its war
2022 that Russia had overtaken Australia to in Ukraine.
become the second biggest gas supplier to China. Another factor is how quickly Russia can roll
The customs data includes both pipeline and out new LNG projects. While Novatek insists
LNG supplies. In first place is Turkmenistan, but that its second terminal, Arctic LNG-2, should
Russia is poised to overtake that country as well start up as originally planned in 2023, despite
unless there is movement on plans for a fourth fallout from the situation in Ukraine, future
line to be added to the Central Asia-China gas developments are expected to struggle.
pipeline. The project has been languishing for Significant construction on Arctic LNG-2’s
years. first train had already taken place before Western
partners began withdrawing from the project.
Further growth in Russian flow? But work on its second and third trains, sched-
The outlook for a further expansion in Russian uled for launch in 2025 and 2026, is at a more
gas pipeline supplies to China will depend on limited stage. And Russia is acutely dependent
how quickly Beijing and Moscow can settle on on Western technology, services and equip-
a contract to underpin Power of Siberia 2, and ment in the LNG sector. This is not to mention
how quickly Gazprom can develop additional the country’s restricted access to international
gas transport infrastructure to send gas from the financing.
Arctic and via the Far Eastern route. In the case of Other prospective Russian LNG projects such
Power of Siberia 2, upstream capacity is already as Arctic LNG-1 and Arctic LNG-3 will face even
available at fields that formerly supplied Europe, greater hurdles.
unless there is a rapprochement in Russia-EU
Week 01 05•January•2023 www. NEWSBASE .com P5
