Page 201 - RusRPTAug24

Russia sends four Yamal LNG cargoes through Northern Sea Route. With one cargo already delivered via Arc-7 icebreaking LNG carrier to China’s Fujian terminal, analysts Kpler say the three additional cargoes highlight the Northern Sea Route’s importance. Arc-7 ice-breaking LNG tanker Eduard Toll has delivered Russia’s first LNG cargo of the year to transit the Northern Sea Route, according to Kpler. The vessel went "from the Yamal LNG plant in Russia to the Fujian terminal in China via the Northern Sea Route (NSR), marking the first LNG delivery this year through the NSR," the analyst firm posted on social media outlet X. "Three other Arc-7 LNG tankers – Christophe de Margerie, Fedor Litke and Boris Davydov – are also en route to Asia via the NSR, underscoring the route’s strategic importance, especially amid new EU sanctions on Russian LNG transhipping," Kpler said. Kpler data shows Yamal shipped 10.77M tonnes of LNG in the first half of this year, with 83% to Europe and 17% to Asia. The Siberia-based Yamal LNG plant sends cargoes mainly to Europe and Asia and has so far not faced United States sanctions in response to Russia’s war against neighbour Ukraine. Novatek operates the plant while aiming to finalise the Arctic LNG 2 project.
A prolonged suspension of operations at the Freeport LNG facility – the second largest LNG export terminal in the US – has been largely met with apathy by European gas market participants amid ample regional supply. The 15m tonnes/year (20bcm/year) facility halted operations in July as a precaution due to Hurricane Beryl, which made landfall in Texas earlier. Freeport LNG provided around 1.7m tonnes of the chilled fuel to Europe – excluding Turkey – in the first half of the year, with 0.44m tonnes shipped across the Atlantic in June, according to Kpler vessel-tracking data. The US is Europe’s largest supplier of LNG, providing nearly half – or 24m tonnes – of the region’s 52m tonnes of imports so far this year, the data showed. Yet, the benchmark European TTF front-month gas contract was seen last down 5% on the week at €31.43/MWh. In 2020, Cameron LNG’s 13.5m tonnes/year operations in the US Gulf were shut down for nearly two months in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura, while in 2021, Hurricane Nicholas briefly took all three of Freeport LNG’s trains offline.
Russian LNG exports to Europe in June rose to a six-month high, provisional vessel-tracking data showed, amid “challenges” in shipping to Asia but exports would likely decline over the coming months, analysts said on July 10. Russian exports of LNG to European countries – excluding Turkey – amounted to around 2m tonnes (2.7bcm) last month, up 23% on the month and the highest level since December, Kpler estimates showed. But total exports of the chilled fuel to the region were pegged at 14.9m tonnes, down 4.3% from May and the lowest since January 2021, according to the data.
According to the results of the first half of the year, exports of Russian liquefied natural gas increased by 2.7%, to 16.8mn tonnes, and to EU
201 RUSSIA Country Report August 2024 www.intellinews.com