Russia to triple LNG exports by 2030 – deputy PM

Russia plans to continue ramping up both output and exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak announced on Tuesday, as cited by RIA Novosti news agency.

During an address at the ‘Russia’ Forum in Moscow, Novak said that by 2030 LNG exports would be ramped up to 110 million tons per year, nearly triple the volume Russia supplied to the global market last year.

The deputy prime minister added that Russia already ranks as the globe’s fourth largest supplier of LNG to the global market with 8% of total exports. The planned increase in exports over the next six years would allow the country to raise its share of global LNG supply to 20%.

Novak noted, however, that the plans require a boost in production that can only be realized if all current LNG-producing sites reach their planned output capabilities.

“This is an ambitious task. It is necessary to develop LNG production clusters to achieve it,” he stated. According to Novak, production at the Baltic cluster is expected to rise to 15 million tons a year by 2030 from 2.2 million tons in 2023. The Murmansk cluster, where production is yet to begin, is slated to reach 20 million tons. The Yamal cluster will be ramped up to 60 million tons, from the current 20 million, while the Sakhalin cluster will reach 15 million tons from the current 11 million.

Russian LNG exports have been steadily growing throughout the past year in light of burgeoning demand in both Europe and Asia. The EU banned seaborne exports of Russian oil amid Ukraine-related sanctions, but Russian LNG has not been targeted by the restrictions. While pipeline gas imports to Europe decreased sharply over the past two years, member states purchased record amounts of Russian LNG in 2023.

RT’s business section