Reuters: India will not buy gas from the Arctic LNG 2 project under sanctions

India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary, Pankaj Jain, stated that the country will not purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project.

This was reported by Reuters.

«We will not buy from Arctic LNG 2. We do not buy any sanctioned goods. Anything that is subject to extensive sanctions, we don’t touch it», — Jain said.

It is noted that the Arctic LNG 2 project is under Western sanctions due to Russia’s war against Ukraine. It is developed by the Russian company Novatek. The United States has also imposed sanctions on hundreds of entities and individuals for supporting Russia’s military efforts. These include companies involved in the Arctic LNG 2 project and its LNG supply.

As a reminder, Russia has largely lost access to the EU’s oil and gas markets due to its aggression against Ukraine, EU sanctions, and Europe’s decarbonisation policies. The Kremlin is now working on strategies to regain access to the EU market for Russian oil and gas.

Oksana Ishchuk, Executive Director of the Centre for Global Studies «Strategy XXI,» discussed this on Hromadske Radio.

«After the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Federation experienced a catastrophic loss of market share in the EU’s oil and gas sectors. It attempted to redirect supplies previously destined for the EU to China. However, China demanded a very low price, comparable to Russia’s domestic pricing, making it unprofitable for Russia to supply gas to China.»

Additionally, Ishchuk noted that Asian markets cannot replace Europe’s premium markets.

«As we know, the Russian budget relies heavily on energy revenues, which fund the costs of the war. If we look at the EU’s dependence on Russian oil and gas, we are witnessing a withdrawal from the Russian needle.»

While in 2021, Europe imported 41% of its gas from Russia, by 2024, that figure had dropped to 18%, Ishchuk added.

At the same time, she pointed out that Europe currently imports 31 billion cubic meters of gas through pipelines. Some of this gas flows through Ukraine, while the rest transits through Turkey.

Ishchuk also highlighted that Russia earns far more from energy exports than Ukraine does from oil and gas transit across its territory. Accordingly, Russia will use these revenues to continue the war. In the first eight months of 2024, Russia earned approximately $6 billion in energy revenues, the expert noted.

«The occupiers will use this money for further missile attacks. On August 26, during a large-scale attack, Russia fired missiles worth $1.2 billion. Over the course of a year, Russia will earn around $12 billion from oil and gas transit through Ukraine. That translates to 12 massive attacks on Ukraine. These deals must be stopped», — Ishchuk said.