As Western attention remains focused on Russia’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas shadow fleet, a third type of fuel, gas condensate, continues to flow into Europe without much public scrutiny.
Russia operates two dedicated ice-capable condensate tankers, Yuriy Kuchiev and Boris Sokolov, for its Yamal LNG project. Neither vessel has been sanctioned by the U.S. or Europe. A third vessel, Anatoly Lamekhov, purpose-built by Guangzhou Shipyard in southern China, is set to work with Russia’s new Arctic LNG 2 project. It recently underwent sea trials and remains at a Hong Kong anchorage.
With an Arc7 ice-class all three are able to operate largely independent through Russia’s Arctic waters year-round.
Both Yuriy Kuchiev and Boris Sokolov continue to carry condensate into major European ports, on average completing a voyage every three weeks.
“Condensate shipments from Yamal LNG seem to be sailing ‘under the radar’,” says Ben Seligman, a project specialist for Arctic oil and gas development.
“Everyone has been focused on Russian exports of LNG and crude oil, but being a form of very light oil, condensate falls somewhere in between, which may explain why it has evaded sanctions.”
Russia is not a major player on the condensate market, but its export brings in substantial revenue. LNG plants can cover a significant share of their operating costs solely through the sale of condensate.
Condensate is produced using the gas from the subsurface reservoir. It is then separated out at the surface facilities.
“Condensate exports bring in good money for Yamal LNG,” confirms Seligman.
In contrast to crude oil and LNG, there has been no action or discussion in the EU as to the future of Russian condensate imports. The EU banned the imports of Russian crude oil and oil products in December 2022. Internal discussions for a ban on LNG remain ongoing, though restrictions on transshipments in EU waters and terminals is set to take effect next month.
Similarly, Western sanctions against Arctic LNG 2 have been exclusively focused on the liquefied natural gas side of things. Eight cargoes, picked up between August and October 2024, remain undelivered aboard a number of shadow fleet LNG carriers and floating storage units. However, successful deliveries of condensate from Arctic LNG 2 received little public attention.
The conventional oil tanker Vasily Lanovoy picked up three shipments of condensate between August and October 2024. The vessel disengaged its AIS signal for parts of its journeys, but satellite images confirm that it offloaded its cargo at the small port of Vitino on the White Sea coast. Vitino is connected to the Russian railway system allowing for the onward transport of the condensate.
Currently, Yuriy Kuchiev is headed for the port of Rotterdam, its 15th delivery to Europe in the past 12 months. Its sister ship, Boris Sokolov, is en route to Sabetta to load at Yamal LNG, which completes 16 trips to the continent throughout 2024 and early 2025.
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