Russian LNG under US sanctions heads for the first time to India

London: A cargo ​of liquefied natural gas from Russia's Portovaya plant on the Baltic Sea that is under U.S. sanctions is on its way to India, LSEG shipping data showed on Wednesday.

If it reaches its destination, it would ‌be the first ⁠such delivery ⁠to India since U.S. President Donald Trump last year said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him India ​would stop buying Russian energy.

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India has never publicly confirmed any such pledge and has said its buying ​decisions are guided by price, supply security and consumer interests. As one of the world's biggest energy importers, it is now greatly exposed to the disruption and price rises caused by ​the Middle Eastern war and the resulting closure of the ⁠Strait of ‌Hormuz.

The small-scale Portovaya plant, which has a production capacity of 1.5 ​million tons of ​LNG per year, started operations in September 2022.

Exports from the plant ⁠have been interrupted by additional sanctions over the Ukraine war that ​were imposed in January 2025 to disrupt Russia's ability to produce ​and export LNG and reduce its revenue from the trade.

ANOTHER MARKET IN ADDITION TO CHINA?

So far Russia has supplied LNG under sanctions to China's port of Beihai from Portovaya and also from its Arctic LNG 2 plant.

Earlier on Wednesday, Russian energy giant Gazprom delivered a second post-sanctions LNG cargo from Portovaya plant to China, LSEG data showed.

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If India is ‌buying Russian LNG, that would provide another market as Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to divert LNG from Europe before the European Union enforces its import ban on Russia's LNG from ⁠2027.

Kunpeng, a 138,200 cubic metre tanker, is heading to Dahej LNG import terminal in western India, according to LSEG data.

"The cargo, if delivered, would open up a second market for U.S.-sanctioned ​Russian LNG, with all previous deliveries from sanctioned Russian terminals delivering to China's Beihai," said Martin Senior, head of LNG pricing at industry publication Argus.

Before the sanctions, Portovaya shipped two cargoes a month on average during winter. Since March 2025, apart from the two shipments to China, it has been sending one cargo per month to the Russian western exclave of Kaliningrad.