Russia Eases LNG Export Rules

The lower chamber of Russia's parliament, the Duma, has passed legal amendments further loosening restrictions on the number of projects eligible to export gas in the form of LNG.

Russia passed amendments to the Law on Gas Exports in 2013 partially liberalising LNG exports, amid growing frustration that Gazprom, the country's monopoly gas exporter, was moving too slowly with new liquefaction projects. These amendments allowed other operators with subsoil licences issued before January 1 2013 to export LNG, as long as their licences provided for the construction of liquefaction facilities. In reality, this only benefitted a select few projects owned by Novatek and Rosneft, which had lobbied aggressively for liberalisation.

The latest amendments, passed on the third reading by the Duma, enable projects that received licences after January 1 2013 to export LNG as well, according to a message on a government website on April 14.

Russia wants to establish itself as a top-tier LNG exporter, and allowing more projects and potentially new players to develop liquefaction capacity will help achieve this. Its energy ministry recently approved a new long-term energy strategy, raising its target for LNG production in 2035 to 80-140mn mt, from an earlier goal of 70-82mn mt.