China may become a reseller to Europe of Gazprom LNG in a harsh winter

By Rhod Mackenzie

China's resale to Europe of some of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplied by Gazprom's Portovaya liquefaction complex is quite possible if EU countries face a cold winter, Igbal Guliyev, deputy director of the International Institute of Energy Policy and Diplomacy at MGIMO, told RIA Novosti.

The Vedomosti newspaper reported on Thursday, citing data from the Kpler analytics company, that Gazprom has begun supplying LNG to China from the Portovaya compressor station in the Leningrad region. The latest gas tanker left for China via the Northern Sea Route in mid-August.

"As for direct deliveries from Portovaya, delivery times need to be taken into account, because soon, given the ice conditions, tankers will no longer sail the Northern Sea Route, but will sail through Europe, which will increase the delivery time. And if Europe faces a cold winter, the reserves in underground gas storage facilities will not be enough, and it is possible that tankers bound for Asia will be bought back for European buyers ," the analyst said.
Guliyev added that China will not only buy Russian LNG in large quantities, but will be able to buy LNG not only for its own needs, but also for resale at peak times.

The Gazprom LNG Portovaya plant is located near Vyborg in the Leningrad region and can produce 1.5 million tonnes of LNG per year. The complex has been in operation since last autumn. The company's products are intended in particular for the backup gas supply of the Kaliningrad region.