Russia Becomes China’s Second-Largest LNG Supplier as Exports Hit Record High

Russia’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to China hit a record high in November, as Chinese buyers increased purchases of discounted Russian fuel despite the risk of Western sanctions, Bloomberg reported on December 22.

Russian LNG deliveries more than doubled year on year to 1.6 million metric tons, according to Chinese customs data, allowing Russia to overtake Australia and become China’s second-largest LNG supplier after Qatar. The surge shows Moscow’s pivot toward Asia after losing much of its European gas market following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

To stay competitive, Russia has sharply reduced its LNG prices. In November, Russian supplies were the cheapest among China’s 12 LNG sources, priced about 10% below the average at $9.85 per million British thermal units, according to Bloomberg.

The lower prices helped lift China’s overall LNG imports, which posted their first annual increase in more than a year after a period of weak demand.

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China has also begun receiving shipments linked to Russia’s sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project via its Beihai terminal. However, output at the facility has been constrained by winter ice and logistical challenges. Meanwhile, China has not imported LNG from the United States since February, due to trade frictions and subdued demand, according to Bloomberg.

Previously, it was reported that China was quietly assembling a “shadow fleet” of tankers to import US-sanctioned Russian LNG, a move that could help Moscow evade Western restrictions while deepening Beijing’s energy and political ties with the Kremlin, Bloomberg reported on November 12.

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