The American government, which opposes the construction of Nord Stream 2 in order to supply its own liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe, simultaneously buys gas from Russian companies.
A famous German newspaper writes about this The World, which noted that the Russian energy company Novatek has begun supplying LNG from the Yamal field, in particular to Boston.
“Earlier in the winter, two tankers with Novatek LNG arrived in the United States. Novatek does not sell directly to the Americans, but sold gas shipments are sent there. In winter, this was due, firstly, to the fact that in the northern United States, as a result of severe frosts, the price of gas increased significantly. Secondly, the gas pipeline infrastructure there is not developed enough to cover the need for gas on its own.
But why Boston is not supplied with its own LNG is quite curious. Mikhelson spoke about this in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper. The American cabotage regulations of 1920 are to blame for this. In accordance with them, cabotage transportation on non-American vessels is prohibited in the United States. And since the United States does not have its own LNG tankers, it has to resort to gas imports, Mikhelson noted. The irony is that the American government, which opposes the construction of Nord Stream 2 in order to supply its own LNG to Europe, at the same time itself buys gas from Gazprom’s Russian competitor, Novatek, the publication writes.
It is indicated that Novatek is formally under American sanctions.