Small-scale Russian suppliers halt LNG exports as sanctions kick in

Small-scale Russian producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) located on the shores of the Baltic Sea, Portovaya LNG and Kryogaz-Vysotsk, have suspended LNG supplies, LSEG ship-tracking data showed on Thursday, as US sanctions kick in.

Washington last month introduced new sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, including against the two plants, with a grace period until February 27.

Kryogaz-Vysotsk, controlled by Novatek and Gazprombank, last dispatched a cargo on February 18, with delivery to Belgium's Zeebrugge terminal on February 22, LSEG data shows. LSEG data also shows that Portovaya LNG's last cargo was delivered to customers in mid-January.

A tanker called Pearl, formerly known as Pskov, was last loaded with LNG from Portovaya earlier this month and is anchored in the Gulf of Finland, along with the Velikiy Novgorod gas carrier which is also servicing the project.

Tankers that service the plants are all at sea, LSEG data shows.

Kryogaz-Vysotsk has annual production capacity of 820,000 tonnes of LNG while Portovaya LNG can produce 1.5 million tonnes per year.

(Reporting by Reuters Editing by David Goodman and Elaine Hardcastle)