Anna Hirtenstein and Georgi Kantchev of The Wall Street Journal report that Washington wants to ensure Putin’s flagship liquefied-natural-gas project is ‘dead in the water.’ They Write:
Supercooled gas has quickly become one of the world’s most important energy sources—and a flashpoint between Russia and the U.S.
Nowhere is that contest more apparent than in Russia’s Arctic north. An enormous new coastal facility is being built there to produce liquefied natural gas, a key project for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The U.S. is using a barrage of sanctions to cripple the initiative, known as Arctic LNG 2. These have stopped Russia from taking delivery of specialized, colossal tankers that it needs to transport the gas, and made it hard to build alternative vessels domestically. […]
Russia “had ambitious plans and then blew them all up with the invasion of Ukraine,” said Jason Feer of Poten & Partners, a shipping and brokerage firm.
“Russia will be handicapped in terms of what it can do in LNG and people’s willingness to sign contracts, lend the money and provide technology.”
Read more here.
