Russia will increase its pipeline gas exports by 11% and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports by 14% due to the commissioning of new LNG production plants and an increase in volumes supplied to Asia, primarily to China, predicted Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.
"According to our estimates, in 2024, pipeline gas exports will grow by 11% compared to the previous year, reaching 108 billion cubic meters, (...) while LNG exports will increase by 14%, reaching 38 million tons," he stated in an article in the Russian magazine Energy Policy.
Novak linked the increase in pipeline gas exports to the "gradual increase in the capacity of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline (which started operating in December 2019 and transports gas to China) to the projected levels."
The deputy prime minister explained that "new combined LNG plants are being developed."
"The Arctic LNG 2 project is underway. We are also working on the ethane-containing gas processing complex and LNG production near the town of Ust-Luga in the Leningrad region," he said.
The latter had to halt production this week after a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire.
Novak indicated that Russia continues to develop small and medium-capacity LNG projects and mentioned that two low-capacity plants were launched in Tver (in the European part of Russia) and Tyumen (Siberia) last November.
He also noted efforts to increase freight transportation along the Arctic route, an increasingly attractive option due to global warming, presenting an alternative to the Suez Canal, and mentioned that 36 million tons were transported along this route in 2023.
Following the start of the war in Ukraine and Western sanctions, Russia has been forced to seek new markets for its gas and oil, with China and India being its main destinations.
