Gazprom's Portovaya LNG Tests Northern Sea Route to Asia

An LNG cargo from Gazprom’s Portovaya facility in northwestern Russia is testing the direct Northern Sea Route (NSR) to deliver the plant's first cargo to China, as Moscow seeks to redirect its energy exports from Europe to alternative markets. Russian LNG traffic is expected to increase through the route following the launch of Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2 plant in West Siberia and the Kamchatka transshipment terminal in the Far East later this year. However, regular LNG shipments from terminals in northwest Russia look unlikely given the expected deficit of sanctions-prone ice-class LNG tankers.