LNG

A second Russian-build ice-class LNG carrier, the Konstantin Posiet, is heading to Asia via the Northern Sea Route, underscoring Moscow’s push to sustain Arctic LNG exports despite Western sanctions.

Russia’s Novatek has begun its 2026 summer Arctic LNG shipping season with simultaneous eastbound cargoes from its Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 2 projects via the Northern Sea Route – in the face of Western sanctions and ongoing technical constraints at Arctic LNG 2.

PipeChina is gearing up to add a second regasification terminal for cargoes from Russia’s sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project. The newly built Longkou LNG terminal in Shandong province meant to receive shipments before October.

The British government is anticipated to announce new sanctions today targeting Russia’s illicit shadow fleet for oil and LNG, following the interception of a sanctioned Russian oil tanker in the Channel on Sunday. The move could disrupt a segment of LNG trade that relied on opaque shipping and financing channels.

Ice-class carrier Christophe de Margerie is attempting a seasonally early eastbound transit from Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2 terminal via the Northern Sea Route to Asia, underscoring the Russian company’s efforts to sustain exports to predominantly Chinese buyers.

Arctic LNG 2 is expanding its tanker fleet to re-route exports to Asia ahead of the EU’s planned 2027 ban on Russian LNG imports. The Novatek-led project is estimated to need up to 40 additional LNG carriers to sustain Arctic LNG 2’s targeted export volumes beyond 2026.

Russia's largest LNG producer Novatek has reported a sharp 63% drop in net profit, citing lower commodity prices, Western sanctions, and operational disruptions at its Ust-Luga terminal following a Ukrainian drone attack. 2025 net profits fell to 183 billion roubles ($2.37 billion), down from 493 billion roubles in the previous year.

Sovcomflot's newly built Arc7 ice-class LNG carrier Alexey Kosygin has completed its first commercial voyage, delivering an LNG cargo from Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2 terminal to a floating storage unit (FSU) off Murmansk.

“Full exports from Arctic LNG 2 would crash the TTF,” Energy Aspects warns, arguing European gas markets would not be able to absorb the wave of additional supply without requiring US LNG shut-ins to balance.

Another U.S.-sanctioned LNG tanker has docked at the Arctic LNG 2 facility, Reuters reported, referring to Kpler ship-tracking data. Novatek seemingly resumed liquefaction and export from the terminal in the Russian High North.