Germany Rejects Vessel Carrying Russian Arctic LNG, But Continues Indirect Imports Via EU Neighbors Germany’s Ministry of the Economy instructed a state-owned LNG terminal operator to reject a shipment of Russian Arctic liquefied natural gas. The decision affirms the country’s position to not directly import Russian gas via pipeline or as LNG. But German imports of the country’s gas continue indirectly via the continent’s gas network.
China Continues to Deliver Prefabricated Modules in Support of Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 Project Two ice-capable heavy lift vessels,AudaxandPugnax,departed China with new modules for Arctic LNG 2. The continued delivery of equipment highlights the challenge Western officials face in stopping Novatek from completing its latest project through sanctions.
Russia Sends Oil Tanker Without Ice Protection Through Arctic For First Time In a sign of things to come Russia has sent the first non-ice class Aframax oil tanker into the Arctic. Hampered by Western sanctions a desperate Russia has decided to forgo long standing practices regarding ice-protection in an effort to reroute ever-larger amounts of crude oil to China, experts say.
Transport of LNG Modules to Russia Continues, Calling Effectiveness of EU Sanctions Into Question Russia’s natural gas company Novatek continues to receive prefabricated modules from China for its Arctic LNG 2 project. While EU sanctions seemingly prohibit their transport a Dutch shipping company continues to aid in their delivery.
Russia to Begin Year-Round Shipping on Entire Northern Sea Route in 2024 Russian officials announced that year-round exports of liquified natural gas from the Arctic to Asia will begin early next year. A milestone for Novatek, the company has worked toward regular winter deliveries along the eastern part of the Northern Sea Route for the past five years.
The Netherlands to Phase Out Russian Arctic LNG Following the UK earlier in 2023, the Netherlands has begun phasing out liquefied natural gas from the Russian Arctic. This leaves Belgium, France and Spain as the main importers of LNG from the country.
Russia Drawing Up Plans to Send Arctic Crude Oil on Non-ice Class Tankers to Asia Environmental stakes in the Arctic could reach new highs this summer. Rosatom is discussing the possibility of using non-ice class oil tankers along the Northern Sea Route this summer to deliver Arctic crude oil to Asia.
EU Proposes Measures to Block Import of Russian Arctic LNG After sanctioning the import of most pipeline gas from Russia, the EU is now beginning to target the flow of Russian LNG into the bloc. EU member states increased consumption of Arctic LNG by 50 percent since the beginning of sanctions. A new proposal would allow EU member states to block the import of LNG.
Impact of New EU Sanctions Targeting Russian Nuclear Icebreakers Will Be Limited New EU sanctions target Atomflot, the operator of Russia’s nuclear icebreaker fleet. The impact on the country’s ability to build additional icebreakers remains to be seen, say Arctic experts.
China Receives Late-Season LNG Deliveries from Russian Arctic Capping Off Record-Breaking Year Energy ties between Russia and China continue to expand, with the latter receiving a record-setting number of deliveries from the Yamal LNG project in 2022, including two winter shipments via the NSR arriving during the last two weeks.
