Russia to become world’s biggest LNG exporter within 5-10 years: Expert

Russia is poised to emerge as a dominant force in LNG (liquefied natural gas) production, potentially surpassing Qatar, the current global leader in LNG exports, in the midterm.

According to Alexey Fadeyev, a Doctor of Economics and Professor at the Higher School of Production Management at the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, the collective capacity of Russian liquefied gas production, factoring in the initiation of all promising projects, is projected to exceed 200 million tonnes per year.

"At the moment LNG production in Russia is estimated at around 33 mln tons per year. Russia's government has set the task of doubling output, while the strategic task is to produce at least 100 mln tons of LNG per year, which is in line or even higher than the level of LNG production by the world's leading countries, for example, Qatar. It bears noting that the total capacity of Russia's LNG potential production considering the launch of all promising projects is estimated at over 200 mln tons of gas per year," he said.

The production of liquefied natural gas has always played a special part in Russia's oil and gas sector, while amid a fall in supplies of Russian pipeline gas to the EU its role has risen significantly, the expert noted.

The total number of LNG projects in Russia, including small-scale, currently surpasses 70, he said, adding that they operate and develop despite sanctions restrictions.

"Sanctions to be imposed against the Arctic LNG-2 project with 16.5 mln tons of gas per year, which is being implemented by Novatek, were announced in late 2023. Foreign shareholders froze the participation in the project, though it does not mean that the project will not be implemented. Novatek will probably revise the LNG sales layout, and probably with delays, but the project will start operating," Fadeyev said, reports BSS/TASS.