Finance & economics | The ships are down

Sanctions are sinking Russia’s flagship gas project

Whether that lasts is up to Donald Trump

The LNG Dream vessel by the quay of a liquefied natural gas plant at the Prigorodnoye Production Complex in Sakhalin Region, Russia, January 22nd 2023
Photograph: IMAGO

The Wests economic weapons are missing their target. Last month Russia exported near-record volumes of oil, at a decent price. But there is one exception. After shutting its main gas pipeline to Europe in 2022, Russia had hoped that Arctic LNG 2, an ultra-modern export facility, would open big new markets. Yet last month the plant suspended operations until next summer, for want of ships and buyers. Sanctions are nipping it in the bud.

Explore more

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “The ships are down”

From the November 9th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

Discover more

Donald Trump in Brownsville, Texas on November 19th 2024

Trump wastes no time in reigniting trade wars

Canada and Mexico look likely to suffer

Illustration of a large anvil falling down on a government building.

How Trump, Starmer and Macron can avoid a debt crunch

With deficits soaring, their finance ministers will have to be smart


Scott Bessent speaks at the National Conservative Conference in Washington, DC.

What Scott Bessent’s appointment means for the Trump administration

The president-elect’s nominee for treasury secretary faces a gruelling job


What Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders get wrong about credit cards

Forget interest rates. Rewards are the real problem

Computers unleashed economic growth. Will artificial intelligence?

Two years after ChatGPT-3.5 arrived, progress has been slower than expected

Should investors just give up on stocks outside America?

No, but it is getting a lot harder to keep the faith