Russia Sends First Sanctioned LNG Shipment to China, Defying US Pressure

Russia’s Baltic LNG  export plant has shipped its first gas delivery to China despite US sanctions imposed in January 2025 on the country’s largest oil companies, including Gazprom Neft. This was reported by Bloomberg on December 8.

According to the outlet, in October, the Russian tanker Valera loaded gas at Gazprom’s Baltic Sea Portovaya plant and arrived on December 8 at the Beihai import terminal in southern China. Both the vessel and the plant are under US sanctions.

Bloomberg notes that China does not recognize unilateral sanctions and has increased its purchases of Russian gas in recent months, strengthening energy ties between Moscow and Beijing.

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China has also ignored US calls to stop buying Russian oil, a likely topic of discussion in upcoming talks between Washington and New Delhi this week.

In addition to the Portovaya plant, Russia operates two other LNG export facilities on the Baltic Sea: one in Vysotsk and another in Siberia, the latter having started supplying gas to China as early as late August.

Overall Russian LNG shipments to China, including from facilities not under sanctions, rose by approximately 14% from September to November compared to last year.

Previous satellite images revealed that cargo from Portovaya was transferred to another vessel registered in Hong Kong, which transmitted false location signals. Last month, satellites spotted the ship near China, but its current location is unknown.

Earlier, Reuters reported that Russia has significantly raised its oil discounts to China as both state-owned and private refineries reduce their purchases.

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