To receive sanctioned gas from Russia: China has begun preparing a second terminal
22 June 16:12
The “Arctic LNG-2” project, which is subject to U.S. sanctions and finally began deliveries to a Chinese port last year, may add another receiving terminal. China is preparing a second import terminal to handle shipments of sanctioned Russian LNG, three people familiar with the situation told Reuters, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to them, the recently built LNG terminal in Longkou, in the eastern province of Shandong, will be used for this purpose. The installation of mechanical equipment there has been completed, and it is expected to be ready by October—the start of the winter season—a senior energy industry executive said. The new terminal is operated by the pipeline company PipeChina—the same company that operates the terminal in Beihai, which began receiving Russian LNG in August 2025.
Novatek, which is developing “Arctic LNG-2,” has had to sell its product at a 35–40% discount, as China remains its sole buyer. Gas exports from the project were supposed to begin in early 2024, but in the fall of 2023, the U.S. imposed sanctions against it. Novatek subsequently began shipping LNG to floating storage units. It was from one of these facilities, located off the coast of Kamchatka, that shipments to China began last year, when dictator Vladimir Putin traveled there once again.
According to Kpler, in less than 10 months, China received a total of 41 shipments from “Arctic LNG-2,” or 2.6 million metric tons. Meanwhile, the project’s development plan called for the production of 18.9 million metric tons annually. In other words, on an annualized basis, Novatek—due to sanctions triggered by the war launched by Vladimir Putin— has so far been able to sell approximately six times less than was projected when “Arctic LNG-2” was operating at full capacity.
The company built two production lines but was forced to postpone construction of a third.
Beihai has also received three shipments of gas from another plant subject to sanctions—Gazprom LNG Portova—according to Reuters.
This Chinese terminal has a capacity of 6 million metric tons, while the terminal in Longkou will be able to handle 5 million metric tons per year.
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