Russia's Gazprom Ships First LNG Cargo from Portovaya to Spain

FILE PHOTO: Gas pipelines are pictured at the Atamanskaya compressor station, facility of Gazprom's Power Of Siberia 1 project outside the far eastern town of Svobodny, in Amur region, Russia November 29, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gas pipelines are pictured at the Atamanskaya compressor station, facility of Gazprom's Power Of Siberia 1 project outside the far eastern town of Svobodny, in Amur region, Russia November 29, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
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Russia's Gazprom Ships First LNG Cargo from Portovaya to Spain

FILE PHOTO: Gas pipelines are pictured at the Atamanskaya compressor station, facility of Gazprom's Power Of Siberia 1 project outside the far eastern town of Svobodny, in Amur region, Russia November 29, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gas pipelines are pictured at the Atamanskaya compressor station, facility of Gazprom's Power Of Siberia 1 project outside the far eastern town of Svobodny, in Amur region, Russia November 29, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

Russia's Gazprom shipped a cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its small-scale Portovaya LNG plant on the Baltic Sea to Spain for the first time, LSEG data showed on Monday.
LNG, unlike some other Russian hydrocarbons, such as crude oil, has not been under the Western sanctions.
The tanker, the Cool Rover, which loaded LNG ship-to-ship from the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), the Marshal Vasilevskiy, discharged in the Spanish port of Huelva at the Enagas LNG terminal, the data showed.
Gazprom and Portovaya LNG did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
State-controlled Gazprom has practically lost the European pipeline gas export market, once the main source of foreign currency revenues for Moscow.
Russia supplied a total of around 63.8 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas to Europe by various routes via pipelines in 2022, according to Gazprom data and Reuters calculations. The volumes plummeted further, by 55.6%, to 28.3 bcm last year.
The Portovaya LNG plant with a capacity of 1.5 million metric tons per year was launched in September 2022.
Most LNG cargoes from the plant have been sent to Turkey or Greece, while three were shipped to China.



Oil Edges up on Potential US Tariff Exemptions on Cars, Pick-up in China Crude Imports 

A general view of oil tanks located near the Teltowkanal canal in Berlin, Germany, 10 April 2025. (EPA)
A general view of oil tanks located near the Teltowkanal canal in Berlin, Germany, 10 April 2025. (EPA)
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Oil Edges up on Potential US Tariff Exemptions on Cars, Pick-up in China Crude Imports 

A general view of oil tanks located near the Teltowkanal canal in Berlin, Germany, 10 April 2025. (EPA)
A general view of oil tanks located near the Teltowkanal canal in Berlin, Germany, 10 April 2025. (EPA)

Oil prices inched higher on Tuesday, supported by new tariff exemptions floated by US President Donald Trump and a rebound in China crude oil imports in anticipation of tighter Iranian supply.

Brent crude futures gained 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $65 per barrel by 0350 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $61.66.

"Trump granted exemptions on electronic tariffs and signaled an auto tariff relief, both of which are seen as setbacks from the previously announced import levies, hence, providing some relief to risk assets, including oil," said independent market analyst Tina Teng.

"However, the rally in stocks and growth-sentiment commodities is skeptical, as his policy is unpredictable."

In the latest development in Trump's whipsawing trade war, he said he was considering a modification to the 25% tariffs imposed on foreign auto and auto parts imports from Mexico, Canada and other places.

The vacillating US trade policies have created uncertainty for global oil markets and pushed OPEC on Monday to lower its demand outlook for the first time since December.

The Trump administration had announced on Friday that it would grant exclusions from tariffs on smartphones, computers and some other electronic goods, most of which are imported from China. That drove both oil benchmarks to settle up slightly higher on Monday.

On Sunday, Trump said he would announce the tariff rate on imported semiconductors over the next week and a Monday Federal Register filing showed the administration had begun an investigation into imports of semiconductors on April 1.

"The market is digesting fast-moving policy developments on the tariff front, while balancing them with nuclear talks between the US and Iran," said ING analysts in a Tuesday note.

"Clearly, the market is more focused on tariffs and what they mean for oil demand."

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Friday the United States could stop Iranian oil exports as part of Trump's plan to pressure Tehran over its nuclear program.

Also supporting prices were data on Monday showing that China's crude oil imports in March were up nearly 5% from a year earlier, as arrivals of Iranian oil surged in anticipation of tighter US sanctions enforcement.