Russia's January LNG exports down 5%, data shows

Russia's exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in January fell by 5% from a year earlier to 2.75 MM tonnes (t), LSEG preliminary data showed on Monday.

LNG exports were also down 10% from December.

Russia has struggled to raise LNG exports in the face of U.S. restrictions over the conflict in Ukraine. Its new Arctic LNG 2 plant has been effectively frozen because it was unable to find the buyers owing to Western sanctions.

Russia's LNG exports to Europe fell 17.6% year on year and by 22% from December to 1.4 MMt, the data shows.

Novatek's Yamal LNG plant cut exports in January by 5.6% year on year to 1.7 MMt. Its supplies to Europe were down by a fifth last month to 1.2 MMt, from 1.5 MMt in both January and December last year.

Sakhalin-2, controlled by Gazprom, exported 960,000 t from the Pacific island in January, up 8% from the same month in 2024.

Gazprom's small-scale Portovaya LNG on the shore of the Baltic Sea was sanctioned by the U.S. in January and exported a record monthly low of 8,600 t over the month.

EU diplomats have said that the European Commission did not propose a ban on Russian LNG in its latest package of sanctions because member states raised concerns about first securing alternatives including from the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he wanted the EU to buy more U.S. LNG and that he will make more of it available. It is unclear when the EU could secure more U.S. LNG in the short term because exports are already at full capacity.

 

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