Russian LNG shipments to China surge

Russian supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China saw unprecedented growth of 60% in annual terms in the first eight months of the year, Chinese customs data released this week showed.    

Russia delivered 5.45 million tons of LNG to China between January and August, becoming its third largest supplier after Qatar and Australia.    

In terms of value, Russian LNG imports jumped by 10.7% and exceeded $3.53 billion for the reported period, customs data showed.  

Shipments to China in August surged by 72.4% compared to July and were up 80.8% in terms of value, reaching $558.37 million.  

Australia remained China’s top LNG supplier in the first eight months of the year, shipping 15.65 million tons worth $9.44 billion. Qatar ranked second, shipping 10.76 million tons worth $6.81 billion.  

Russia is boosting LNG supplies to its Eastern neighbor as part of the rerouting of its energy trade to Asian markets following Western sanctions.   

Last week, Russian energy major Gazprom delivered its first LNG cargo to China via the Northern Sea Route (NSR), which passes through the Arctic Ocean and is the shortest shipping route between East Asia and Europe.

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