Russia LNG Ambitions Under Threat From Renewed US Sanctions

For the first time US sanctions have directly targeted Russia’s LNG export industry as the Obama administration has decided to sanction one of Gazprom’s biggest offshore gas fields in August as part of an extension of retaliatory measures to punish Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region. The 22.5 Tcf (636.6 Bcm) Yuzhno‐Kirinskoye field in the Sea of Okhotsk was set to supply feedgas to a 5 MMt/y expansion train of Russia’s only LNG plant, Sakhalin 2, in the country’s far east by around 2021. The field was due to come onstream with first‐phase output of up to 580 MMcf/d (6 Bcm/y) increasing to some 1.5 Bcf/d (16 Bcm/y) by 2025. If forced to delay, Gazprom could risk losing market share in Japan and South Korea where the majority of Sakhalin 2 offtake goes, as well as Southeast Asia, at the expense of competitors. Please fill out form below to view article.