Russia's Arctic LNG 2 Cuts Gas Production to Near Zero in November Due to Sanctions

Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project reduced production from its gas fields to nearly zero in November after suspending liquefaction in October due to Western sanctions, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.

Arctic LNG 2, owned by Novatek, was designed to produce nearly 20 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually, targeting Asian markets and potentially generating billions in revenue. Once envisioned as Russia's largest LNG plant, it aimed to establish the country as a global LNG leader.

In the first 10 days of November, the fields supplying the plant produced an average of 0.4 million cubic meters of gas per day, representing a drop of more than 90% from October’s average, according to Bloomberg's calculations.

This marks the lowest daily production since at least September 2023. During the fourth quarter of the previous year, even as Arctic LNG 2's first line was starting up, field production ranged from 2 million to nearly 14 million cubic meters per day.

Arctic LNG 2 is central to Russia's ambitions to expand LNG exports and develop the Northern Sea Route but has faced multiple rounds of Western sanctions over the past year. On September 5, the US State Department imposed sanctions on two vessels and two entities tied to the project.

It was earlier reported that India will not purchase liquefied natural gas from Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project, said Indian Oil Secretary Pankaj Jain, Reuters reported on September 27.