LNG is not released abroad

Alexey Belogoryev, Research and Development Director of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to the Kommersant FM radio station on the consequences of the Russian LNG transshipment ban in EU ports imposed on March 26.

The logistics of LNG supplies from Russia has already been largely rebuilt, but the new transportation procedure will once again lead to increased costs, Alexey Belogoryev believes:

"The transshipment mainly concerned LNG, which was supplied from Yamal LNG to NOVATEK and European companies that had long ago contracted this gas. Most likely, this will have virtually no effect on the physical volume of supplies. In terms of value, there may be a reduction in margins due to increased costs. The ban was known in advance, so we had time to prepare. Transshipment has now been moved to Kildin Island in the Barents Sea. And, to be honest, it did not play such a big role. Its volume is not fully known, about 1.5-2 million tons per year, with exports to the EU of about 16 million tons.

Most of the re-exports were carried out by European companies. The main idea of the ban was to keep Russian LNG on the EU market, primarily in Northwestern Europe and the Baltic. There was no real goal to reduce Russian supplies, although it was declared. In fact, even Western experts assumed that the goal was to ensure that more Russian LNG remained in Europe, as it plays an important role in the overall supply of raw materials."