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The Department of State announced on Friday that the US is sanctioning major targets in Russia’s energy sector, imposing sanctions on nearly 80 individuals and entities.
Concurrently, the Department of the Treasury is designating more than 150 individuals and entities and individuals and identifying 183 vessels as blocked property.
Previously, the US sanctioned owners of LNG carriers linked to Russian LNG exports an the Novatek-operated Arctic LNG 2 project.
The Department of State said its designations aim to “reduce Russia’s oil and natural gas revenue through sanctions on operators of significant Russian crude oil production and LNG projects.”
“The Department is designating two currently producing Russian LNG export terminals to directly disrupt Russia’s ability to produce and export LNG and reduce Russia’s revenue from LNG exports,” it said.
According to the Department, Gazprom SPG Portovaya is the Russia-based operator of the Portovaya LNG terminal, and Cryogas Vyostsk is the Russia-based operator of the Cryogas Vysotsk LNG terminal.
Back in Septeember 2024, Gazprom shipped the first cargo of LNG produced at its Portovaya LNG complex in the Leningrad region.
Gazprom’s Portovaya complex on the Baltic Sea is a mid-scale plant able to produce about 1.5 million tons of LNG per year from two trains.
Novatek operates the mid-scale LNG plant in Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Vysotsk.
The Vysotsk facility has a capacity of 660 thousand tons of LNG per year, but it has been producing LNG above its nameplate capacity.
LNG carriers
The US Treasury is also identifying as blocked property 69 vessels, including 54 oil and product tankers and four LNG tankers, that are owned by Russia’s Sovcomflot.
According to Treasury, the LNG cariers are Panama-flagged LNG carrier Christophe De Margerie, Barbados-flagged LNG carrier Pskov, Barbados-flagged LNG carrier Velikiy Novgorod, and Russia-flagged Vostochny Prospect.
Howevher, Vostochny Prospect is an Aframax tanker powered by LNG.
The 2016-built 174,000-cbm Arc-7 LNG tanker, Christophe de Margerie, servest the Yamal LNG project which has not been sanctioned yet.
Also, the 2014-built 170,200-cbm, Pskov, and the 2014-built 170,200, Velikiy Novgorod, were ordered by Sovcomflot to transport LNG for Gazprom under long term charter contracts.
Entities supporting Arctic LNG 2 project
The Department of State said it is designating several PRC-based entities including a fabrication yard and a vessel operator involved in the construction and transportation of power generation modules for the US-sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project.
Also, the Department is desingating new ship management entities Russia is “using to obfuscate the ownership of LNG carriers involved in Russia’s attempts to export cargo from the project.”
Zhoushan Wison Offshore and Marine has built and supplied power generation modules for Arctic LNG 2.
The Department said Zhoushan Wison constructed four specialized modules similar to those previously delivered to the Arctic LNG 2 project by U.S-designated Red Box Energy Sservices.
“After Zhoushan Wison allowed the modules to be shipped from and depart their facility, the modules were transshipped in intermediary ports in China and transferred between a series of vessels, including U.S.-blocked Hunter Star and Nan Feng Zhi Xing, some of which took actions to conceal their identity and location,” the Department said,
The modules constructed by and shipped from the Zhoushan Wison facility were ultimately offloaded at the Arctic LNG 2 project, it said.
In June 2024, China’s FLNG builder Wison New Energies decided to discontinue all ongoing Russian projects, saying it will immediately and indefinitely stop taking any new Russian business.
At the same time, Wison said it had decided to sell its entire equity interest in Zhoushan Wison Offshore and Marine.
Besides Zhoushan Wison Offshore and Marine, the Department has desingated Hongkong Yaqing Shipping, the operator of Ocean 28, a vessel that transported power generation modules originating from Zhoushan Wison to the Arctic LNG 2 project.
Two India-based entities, Novatek units
In addition, the Department is designating two ship management companies, which manage two LNG carriers that loaded cargoes from the Arctic LNG 2 project.
According to the Department, Skyhart Management Services is an India-based entity that became the operator of US-designated LNG carrier Mulan shortly before it loaded LNG from Arctic LNG 2.
Avision Shipping Services is an India-based entity that became the operator of US-designated LNG carrier Nnew Energy shortly before it loaded LNG from Arctic LNG 2, it said.
The Department said is also designating eight subsidiaries of US-designated Novatek China, a PRC-based company established in August 2023 involved in the implementation of a marketing program for LNG from the Arctic LNG 2 project.