China prepares second LNG terminal for sanctioned Russian cargo

China is preparing a second import terminal to handle liquefied natural gas cargoes from Russia’s sanctioned Arctic LNG-2 project.

Reuters reported this, citing three sources familiar with the matter. 

The newly built Longkou LNG terminal in eastern China’s Shandong province, run by state-owned pipeline giant PipeChina, is preparing to receive cargoes from Arctic LNG-2. 

The move would provide a lifeline for the $21 billion project, which is under severe sanctions, and for Russia in general, whose gas exports have been hit and whose oil sector is facing pressure from drone attacks.

 The second import terminal would allow China to receive more of the sanctioned Russian LNG while providing another export market for the sanctioned Arctic LNG-2 terminal, which is designed to produce 19.8 million tons of gas per year. 

China, the only known buyer of the sanctioned Arctic LNG-2 cargo, has so far received shipments through the PipeChina Beihai terminal in Guangxi. The facility accepted the project’s first delivery to the buyer in August 2025 aboard the tanker Arctic Mulan. 

Since then, Beihai has received 41 cargoes, or 2.6 million tons, of LNG from Arctic LNG-2 — many of them via two floating storage facilities in Russia — according to vessel tracking data and Kpler estimates. It has also received three LNG cargoes from Russia’s sanctioned Portovaya terminal.