Russia’s Gazprom loads first cargo from new Portovaya LNG plant

(Reuters) - Russia's energy giant Gazprom has loaded its first cargo from the Portovaya liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant close to the Russia-Finland border, which has a capacity of 1.5 MMtpy.

"The cargo was onboard the Pskov LNG vessel, which is now broadcasting a destination of Port Said that provides entry to the Suez Canal in Egypt," said Olumide Ajayi, senior LNG analyst at Refinitiv, citing Eikon data, adding that the vessel could be heading towards Asia.

ICIC LNG analyst Alex Froley agreed, noting that although the ship had yet to move, the signal from its automatic identification system (AIS) indicated a possible Asia delivery and suggested India as a destination.

The $1.62 B plant, built on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, is located in the proximity of the Portovaya compressor station of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to Germany, the focal point of Russia's energy conflict with the West.

Gazprom said on Thursday it will consider the construction of an additional line at the LNG plant with capacity of up to 2 MMtpy and would employ domestic technologies and equipment at the facility if the decision to build the line is made.

Russian pipeline gas supplies to Europe fell to below 10% of total imports following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, China has been actively buying Russian LNG cargoes at rates reportedly close to half the spot market price.

China's LNG imports from Russia hit a record in August at 664,000 tons, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

This would be the highest since October 2020, according to China customs data.

(Reporting by Marwa Rashad; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

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