The U.S. move on the Russian natural gas project has aroused great concern from the outside world. It is reported that the US Treasury Department included the Russian Arctic LNG 2 project in the sanctions list. The project involves investments from a number of countries, including PetroChina, CNOOC, Japan's Arctic LNG Consortium and France's TotalEnergies. Due to the impact of sanctions, foreign shareholders such as China and Japan may withdraw from the project, causing difficulties in financing and transportation of the project. Russia and Japan** have maintained a consistent response to the matter, both avoiding elevating commercial cooperation to the political level. For Japan, the sanctions have a greater impact because of the country's high dependence on liquefied natural gas and other sanctions against Russia. In contrast, China must take a stand to maintain the normal progress of Sino-Russian economic and trade cooperation, and at the same time oppose illegal sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction.
The recent U.S. sanctions on Russia's LNG project have quickly brought the incident to global attention. It is reported that the US Treasury Department published a list of sanctions, which includes Russia's Arctic LNG Project No. 2 LLC. This is the first time that the United States has directly sanctioned a Russian LNG export plant, which is undoubtedly a bombshell for the LNG market. The project, which is being carried out by Russian energy giant Novatek in partnership with PetroChina, CNOOC, Japan's Arctic LNG consortium and France's TotalEnergies, is expected to start exporting the first batch of LNG next year. However, the U.S. sanctions have put tremendous pressure on the financing and transportation of projects, and have also had a serious impact on the interests of foreign shareholders such as China and Japan. As a result, Chinese and Japanese companies may opt out of the project. In fact, Japan and Russia** responded to the matter with rare unanimity, refraining from elevating the commercial project to the political level. This is because of the complexity of Sino-Russian relations and Japan-Russia relations, and they do not want to affect the cooperation between companies. On the contrary, China needs to take a stand on this issue, maintain the normal progress of economic and trade cooperation between China and Russia, and resolutely oppose illegal sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction.
U.S. sanctions on Russia's LNG project have sparked speculation about whether companies such as China and Japan will withdraw. For Chinese companies such as PetroChina and CNOOC, the withdrawal from the project will affect the cooperation between China and Russia, and also bring certain concerns to the future energy ** and the domestic market. As one of the world's largest LNG importers, Japan has a large demand for Russian LNG, and this sanction is bound to have a major impact on Japan's energy demand and ** chain.
The U.S. sanctions on the Russian LNG project have undoubtedly brought a severe test to the project-related companies. First, for Chinese companies such as PetroChina and CNOOC, withdrawing from the project would hit the cooperative relationship between China and Russia. This has not only caused problems for the energy cooperation between the two sides, but also brought certain uncertainties to China's energy ** and domestic market. As one of the world's largest LNG importers, Japan has a large demand for Russian LNG. Now, U.S. sanctions are bound to have a major impact on Japan's energy demand and chain. Japan** plans to increase the proportion of LNG imported from Russia to 9% by 2026, and the achievement of this target is closely related to the smooth operation of the Arctic LNG 2 project. Therefore, once foreign shareholders such as China and Japan withdraw from the project, Japan will face double pressure from US sanctions and energy shortages.
As one of the largest importers of liquefied natural gas, Japan is highly dependent on Russian natural gas**. Russia's Arctic LNG project is vital for Japan, but it faces a complicated situation due to sanctions. Japan** has previously imposed some sanctions on Russia, but has cleverly circumvented sanctions in the gas sector, as Japan's demand for liquefied natural gas is urgent. The U.S. sanctions on the Russian LNG project have sounded the alarm for Japan and put them in a dilemma.
As the world's largest importer of liquefied natural gas, Japan has extremely high requirements for the stability of energy**. Dependence on Russian gas has reached 96%, and this proportion is increasing year by year. As an important exporter of natural gas, Russia has an important position in Japan's energy industry. Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project is very important for Japan, as it is planned to increase the proportion of LNG imports from Russia in the coming years. However, the U.S. sanctions on Russian projects have caused problems for Japan**. Japan has imposed some sanctions on Russia during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but has avoided the gas sector because their demand for LNG is very urgent and largely dependent on Russia's **. Now, U.S. sanctions have put Japan** in a dilemma. They must not only maintain the same position as Western countries, but also ensure domestic energy and stability. Therefore, Japan has avoided responding to the question of Chinese and Japanese companies withdrawing from LNG projects, and has chosen to emphasize Japan's energy stability. By not taking a stand, they hope to ease the concerns about the issue.