The Beihai LNG terminal in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
Arctic LNG comes in from the cold
Beijing now appears prepared to accept discounted Russian LNG, even at the cost of heightened sanctions risk
Russia’s long-delayed and heavily sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project has begun regular LNG shipments to a single port in China, with Washington so far refraining from imposing secondary sanctions on the recipient—possibly holding fire until there is movement in the Ukraine peace process. Even so, the current flow is unlikely to bring output anywhere near the full capacity of the project’s first 6.6mt/yr train, particularly as the winter navigation season looms, when Russia will lack sufficient ice-class vessels to traverse the frozen Northern Sea Route (NSR). The US, under the Biden administration, imposed sanctions on Arctic LNG 2 in November 2023, prompting TotalEnergies and other Western off
Also in this section
2 April 2026
Alongside a rapid continued build-out of renewables, China’s latest five-year plan stresses the value of domestic hydrocarbon production for energy security and calls for increased Russian gas imports
2 April 2026
The government is taking important steps to revive domestic production, lift investment and benefit from the geopolitical crisis even if more needs to be done in the longer term
1 April 2026
Golden Pass’s startup offers QatarEnergy a timely boost but may also force a difficult choice between honouring disrupted contracts and capitalising on soaring spot LNG prices
1 April 2026
It is not a case of if or when, but the length and magnitude of economic damage from elevated oil prices
