China Secures Sanctioned Russian LNG Supply With Regular Shipments, Bloomberg Reports

China is setting up a system to import regular shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project, which is sanctioned by the US, potentially testing Washington’s willingness to penalize Beijing, according to an investigation by Bloomberg on September 8.

China received the first overseas shipment from Arctic LNG 2 in late August and has now designated the Beihai terminal in southern China to handle further deliveries.

The move concentrates imports at a single port, helping limit exposure for China’s wider gas sector. Purchases are reportedly being routed through a little-known company to obscure the end-user, Bloomberg reports.

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Some Chinese importers, including state-owned Cnooc, are diverting other LNG deliveries away from Beihai to avoid US scrutiny, while several international traders are also avoiding the port.

The first shipment coincided with Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart and was largely symbolic, but continuing deliveries signal China’s willingness to persist despite potential US pressure, according to Bloomberg.

While the Trump administration previously targeted India for oil trade with Moscow, Beijing has so far avoided sanctions. Ship-tracking data shows a third Arctic LNG 2 shipment is due in southern China soon, with at least four more vessels en route.

The LNG 2 project, sanctioned by the US Biden administration in 2023 to curb Russian energy revenue, struggled to find buyers until China accepted the shipment. Unlike Biden’s White House, which sanctioned involved companies and vessels quickly, the Trump administration has not commented on China’s LNG imports, Bloomberg reports.

Chinese firms have historically been cautious about crossing the US due to long-term contracts with American exporters.

Previously, it was reported that Russia’s Gazprom has signed a memorandum with China on the construction of the “Power of Siberia-2” gas pipeline, a project planned to run through Mongolia.

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