Diversification of Russian gas export routes and markets

The Kremlin moved its diversification policy on gas routes and trade into a new phase in March, when Gazprom launched its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant that will tanker Russia's LNG to China, Japan and South Korea, with plans to include the North American countries later to its growing list of global sovereign consumers. The successful realization of this strategically vital project has further boosted Russia's hegemony on the global gas market, as it has found new lucrative markets for its abundant gas, thus lessening its sales dependence on its increasingly ungrateful European consumers...