Russia's Arctic liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant burned fuel last week, according to satellite imagery. This move could signal the resumption of LNG export facilities that have been suspended for a long time due to sanctions.
Bloomberg reported that satellite image of European sentinel 2 shows the LNG 2 facility in the North burning gas on March 30. A photo taken on March 22 did not record any signs of fire or activity.
Gas burning does not mean that the plant's operations will be completely resumed and may also be a sign of maintenance, but there are other signs that the 2nd Arctic LNG project is being concerned about the possibility of being loosely sanctioned by the US.
In February this year, Novatek - the project's largest shareholder - called on customers to buy goods at reduced prices before the sanctions were lifted by Washington.
Satellite images taken in February showed a small flame, suggesting the facility may have been producing LNG.
However, according to the most recent image, the water around the factory is still frozen. This means that traditional ships cannot move to the port to export fuel.
Ships often used to avoid sanctions on LNG 2 in the Arctic are not designed to move on the thick layer of ice here and often receive goods in the summer months.
The Arctic LNG terminal stopped large-scale production last October due to Washington's sanctions that have stopped foreign LNG buyers and frost, making it difficult for ships to dock to import goods.
The East Energy - a ship that received fuel from LNG from the 2 Arctic last year - is approaching Shanghai, according to train tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. If the ship does so, it will be the first time one of the Russian dark fleet LNG tankers departing from the Arctic project has docked abroad.
