Russian legislators have rubber-stamped a cooperation agreement with China on the Yamal LNG project.
Russia’s State Duma has ratified a Russian-Chinese agreement that will pave the way for enhanced cooperation over natural gas in the Arctic.
The so-called ‘Protocol to the Agreement between Russia and China on cooperation in the implementation of the Yamal LNG project’ provides for investments and joint projects, the Russian Minisattempt of Energy reports.
Originally, the protocol was signed on December 27, 2024 in Moscow and Beijing.
According to Aleksei Chepa, first deputy chair of the parliament Committee on International Affairs, the protocol reflects a ‘mutual desire’ for expanded LNG cooperation.
“The Committee on International Affairs believes that the ratification of the protocol will contribute to the strengthening of Russian-Chinese relations, strategic cooperation and partnership, and the creation of favourable conditions for investment cooperation,” Chepa declared in a statement.
The legislators’ approval of the agreement comes less that a year before the EU will halt all imports of Russian LNG.
The European Union’s 19th sanctions package against Russia includes a full ban on LNG imports. The ban takes affect on January 1, 2027 and marks the finish of a decade of European LNG imports from the Russian Arctic. Since natural gas company Novatek launched its Yamal LNG project in late 2017, a lion’s share of production has been exported to European countries.
The once so powerful Russian natural gas indusattempt is now almost eradicated from the EU marked. Russia’s share of EU imports of pipeline gas dropped from around 40 percent in 2021 to around 6 percent in 2025. For pipeline gas and LNG combined, Russia accounted for around 12 percent of total EU gas imports in 2025, according to the EU Council.
China is likely to take over a significant share of the Yamal LNG production.
The project, which is based on natural gas resources on the far northern Yamal Peninsula, has an annual production capacity of 16,5 million tons. A fleet of 15 tankers with sea ice classification Arc7 was built for the project, and most of the carriers today shuttle to and from the project terminal of Sabetta.
From before, the Chinese own almost 30 percent of the Yamal LNG. Twenty percent is owned by the CNPC, and 9,9 percent by the Silk Road Fund. Novatek owns 50,1 percent and Total – 20 percent.
Chinese companies also own a significant share of the Arctic LNG 2, a project located on the opposite shore of the Ob Bay. In contrast to the Yamal LNG, the Arctic LNG 2 is subject to comprehensive international sanctions. The Chinese companies CNPC and CNOOC each hold ten percent ownership stakes in the project.
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