OREANDA-NEWS. Russia will increase exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) almost threefold in the next five years - to 47.9 million tons by 2024, the Ministry of Economic Development expects. This is stated in the macroeconomic forecast of the department, which is planned to be presented at a government meeting on September 19.

LNG export amounted to 16.4 million tons at the end of 2018, the ministry notes. Russia is already ahead of the United States in deliveries to Europe and Asia. LNG export revenues reached almost $ 5.3 billion last year, according to statistics from the Bank of Russia according to the FCS. The growth compared to 2017 was 50% in physical terms and 67% in value terms.

But despite an increase in physical export volumes by 67% from 2019 to 2024, growth in dollars will be less - about 50% (in the base case) - due to lower prices for LNG. The value export of LNG from Russia in the baseline scenario will reach $ 11.5 billion by 2024, compared with $ 7.7 billion in 2019. For comparison: Gazprom’s export of pipeline gas will increase over the same period from $ 41.1 billion to only $ 43.6 billion. That is, by 2024, for every $ 100 earned on the export of non-liquefied gas, $ 26 will come from LNG export.

A significant increase in LNG exports in 2018 ensured that NOVATEK reached full capacity at the Yamal LNG plant. The company became the first private LNG producer in Russia and took about 5% of the global market. In the future, Russia can provide up to 20% of the global LNG market, said Leonid Mikhelson, the head of the board of NOVATEK.

Amid growing exports of liquefied natural gas, Gazprom expressed concern that Russian LNG will begin to displace Russian pipeline gas in the market of northwestern Europe. “Any cubic meter of LNG delivered to the European market is minus one cubic meter of the same Russian pipeline gas”, said Nikolai Kislenko, deputy head of the Gazprom's prospective development department.