LNG

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.

With more than 12 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) of Middle East crude oil and LNG production taken offline due to the Iran war, Russia emerges as the clear winner of global supply shortages. US President Trump’s sanctions relief for Russia’s short-term oil was meant to ease supply disruptions, but had little effect.

Swiss commodity trading house Gunvor is in talks to buy US upstream acreage – notably Baytex Energy assets in the Eagle Ford shale – in a bid to mend relations with the Trump administration, which had fiercely opposed Gunvor’s earlier bid for Lukoil’s foreign assets.

Russia's first open sea ship-to-ship LNG transfer is becoming a blueprint for how companies close to the Kremlin can circumvent Western sanctions. Tanker ‘Perle’ carried out the transfer off Malaysia ten days ago, and analysts reckon similar transfers are planned as Russia seeks to redirect LNG cargoes from Europe to Asia in 2026.

The US Trump administration has remained silent in the face of Russia delivering the sixth cargo from the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project to China. “Higher volumes or shipments to other destinations could trigger a US response, though for now it is unlikely that any other country will take that risk,” said Rystad analyst Lu Ming Pang.