Russia’s state-controlled energy giant Gazprom has shipped a liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo to China from its Portovaya LNG facility, marking the first apparent delivery since the US imposed sanctions on the project earlier this year, Reuters reported.

The cargo was transported by the tanker Valera—previously named Velikiy Novgorod—which departed from the Portovaya terminal on the Baltic Sea on October 28 and discharged at the Beihai LNG import terminal in southern China. The Chinese terminal is also utilized by Novatek, Russia’s leading LNG producer, for deliveries from its Arctic LNG 2 project.

Portovaya LNG, a small-scale plant with a production capacity of approximately 1.5 million tons per annum (mtpa), began operations in September 2022. Exports from the facility were halted in February after Washington introduced sanctions designed to hinder Russia’s LNG capabilities and reduce revenues funding the conflict in Ukraine.

While shipments from Portovaya were initially directed largely to Turkey and Greece, Russia has since broadened the plant’s export destinations to include China, Spain, and Italy.