Russia sparks fury by ‘trolling’ UK with gas shipment

Russia sparked fury after Vladimir Putin’s diplomats boasted they are helping to heat up Britain by sending a shipment of gas as the country suffers from an arctic blast.

Moscow’s embassy in London tweeted ‘help is on the way’ as it announced the first ever shipment of liquefied natural gas had docked in the UK amid freezing temperatures.

A row erupted as UK sources said none of the gas would enter the National Grid because Britain had enough and accused the embassy of ‘trolling’ the Government.

A government source said: ‘This is trolling from the embassy.

Moscow’s embassy in London tweeted ‘help is on the way’ as it announced the first ever shipment of liquefied natural gas had docked in the UK (file photo of tanker)

‘It is nonsense. We are not worried about energy supplies and this is not the Russians riding over the hill to save us from shivering to death.’

On Thursday the Russian embassy account tweeted a stock photograph of the Christophe de Margerie tanker – used to transport LNG from a new Russian plant in the Siberian Arctic.

The tweet read: ‘Feeling cold? Help is on the way – first shipment of LNG from Russia arrives in UK today!’

Yesterday a National Grid spokesman confirmed the tanker had docked at the London Thamesport on the Isle of Grain in Kent on Thursday evening and offloaded its cargo.

The Russian Embassy's official Twitter account posted a picture of the Christophe de Margerie tanker but failed to mention that the shipment would not be used in the UK

The Russian Embassy’s official Twitter account posted a picture of the Christophe de Margerie tanker but failed to mention that the shipment would not be used in the UK

The spokesman confirmed it was the first time a Russian cargo had docked in the UK and the first time an ice breaker ship had docked in the UK.

The shipment, estimated at 170,000 cubic tonnes, was then stored in the UK before being sold elsewhere, rather than being used domestically – as the Russians suggested.

It belongs to Petronas LNG UK, the British arm of Malaysia LNG, and was due to leave the UK last night.

The gas came from a sanctioned £20bn Yamal project on Russia’s northern coastline.

It is based in Siberia and majority-owned by Novatek, one of Russia’s largest independent natural gas producers.

Novatek currently faces sanctions by the United States government over Russia’s involvement in Ukraine.

Mr Putin has told energy bosses the Yamal LNG ‘is one more confirmation of the status of Russia as one of the world’s leading energy powers’.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has described Russia as 'one of the world's leading energy powers'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has described Russia as ‘one of the world’s leading energy powers’

The tanker, seen here north of Siberia, docked at the London Thamesport on the Isle of Grain in Kent on Thursday evening and offloaded its cargo

The tanker, seen here north of Siberia, docked at the London Thamesport on the Isle of Grain in Kent on Thursday evening and offloaded its cargo

Shortly after Mr Putin opened the project earlier this month, British wholesale gas prices soared to four-year highs when a crucial North Sea pipeline was put out of action by a crack.

A distribution hub in Austria was also hit by an explosion.

It had been suggested the shipment could be used in the UK following a price spike after the shutdown of the Forties North Sea Pipeline.

But UK energy sources said yesterday there were no energy supply issues in Britain and it was simply not cold enough for the UK to require Russian gas.

One source said: ‘There are no supply issues. We are not dependent on Russia for this gas. It is not required.’

The Christophe de Margerie is an icebreaker commissioned specifically to service the Yamal project, which is in north Siberian Arctic.

The UK does not receive any gas from Russia directly, but does receive Russian gas indirectly through European pipelines

The UK does not receive any gas from Russia directly, but does receive Russian gas indirectly through European pipelines

It is named after Total’s former chief executive, who died in a plane crash in Moscow three years ago.

The UK does not receive any gas from Russia directly, but does receive Russian gas indirectly through European pipelines.

Some 80 per cent of the UK’s 25 million homes are powered by gas.

43 per cent of the UK’s gas comes from UK production, 44 per cent from European pipelines, and 13 per cent from LNG tankers.

35 per cent of Europe’s gas comes from Russia, according to British Gas.

In November, a top security chief revealed Russian hackers had tried to plunge the UK into darkness with a cyber-attack on Britain’s national grid.

The power grid hack this summer triggered alarms, and experts from eavesdropping agency GCHQ were called in to flush out ‘sleeper’ worms.

It is believed the Russian state-sponsored hackers intended to lie dormant inside the energy network after having penetrated it, to then cause significant damage at a later date. 



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