Redirecting Russian gas from Europe to Asia could prove costly for Moscow — Reuters
Russia's attempt to shift its liquefied natural gas exports from the European market to the Asian market could significantly reduce its revenues due to a sharp rise in logistics costs.
This is reported by Reuters.
As the agency notes, against the backdrop of the European Union’s plans to completely phase out imports of Russian LNG by 2027, Moscow is seeking alternative buyers in Asia; however, this scenario has proven to be significantly more complex and expensive.
According to Reuters, India has already refused to purchase a shipment of Russian LNG from a plant subject to U.S. sanctions, primarily due to high transportation costs and sanctions risks.
The route for delivering gas from the Yamal LNG plant to Europe takes about 17–20 days, while shipments to Asia can take anywhere from 50 to 80 days, depending on the route.
Transportation costs also rise significantly: while delivery to Europe costs about $1–1.5 per million British thermal units, this figure can reach $2.5–5 for India.
Additional challenges for Russia include security risks along maritime routes, the high cost of shipping via the Northern Sea Route, and a shortage of ice-class tankers.
Analysts believe that even with high global gas prices, Russia is unlikely to be able to maintain its previous level of profits from energy exports.
It has become clear why India turned down Russian gas – Reuters.
Russia has added four tankers for transporting liquefied natural gas to its “shadow fleet” in an effort to strengthen its market position ahead of EU restrictions.
