China Defies Western Sanctions with Record Russian LNG Imports

China's imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia have reached record levels in September, despite new sanctions imposed by London. According to data from AIS courts, Chinese companies received at least 25 LNG shipments from Russia, exceeding previous figures.

The majority of these deliveries came from the Arctic LNG-2 and Portovaya projects, which provided 12 shipments each to the Beihai terminal in China. Yamal LNG and Sakhalin-2 also contributed significantly, with 9 and 4 batches respectively.

The total volume of Russian LNG delivered to China in September was around 2.1-2.2 billion cubic meters, surpassing August's record of 1.3 billion cubic meters. This growth is partly due to the expansion of the Arctic LNG-2 fleet and Yamal LNG's traditional focus on Asian markets.

However, the West is not pleased with this development. The UK has imposed new sanctions on Russian LNG, targeting five more Arctic LNG-2 tankers and Novatek Gas and Power Asia trading division. British companies are also prohibited from servicing vessels carrying Russian LNG since January 1, in line with the EU's ban on imports.