FX.co ★ New US sanctions target Russia’s LNG exports

According to The Financial Times, the American sanctions targeting Arctic LNG 2, a Russian liquefied natural gas project, could trigger disruptions in global energy markets. Notably, this is the first time when the US has directly targeted Russia’s liquified natural gas industry. Experts are uncertain about the extent of the impact but warn of significant consequences. Thus, Shaistah Akhtar, a specialist at Mishcon de Reya law firm, believes the US sanctions might completely halt the Arctic LNG 2 project, a scenario that would significantly impact European buyers by cutting off their access to this crucial energy source. Notably, the US Treasury Department included Arctic LNG 2 in its sanctions list in early November of this year. Analysts at Rystad Energy suggest that there might be a workaround for Western investors: they could seek Washington's permission for a temporary exemption of the project from the new sanctions. This approach was previously adopted by Japan concerning the import of Russian oil under the Sakhalin-2 project. Arctic LNG 2 is being developed in the Gydan Peninsula in the northern part of Russia. It is expected to have a production capacity of 19.8 million tons of LNG per year. The output will be divided across three production lines, each with a capacity of 6.6 million tons. Preliminary estimates indicate that the plant will boost Russia's LNG output to 50 million tons, with over 50% of the production anticipated to be exported to Europe.