Gas expansion: Russia ready to supply LNG to Chile
Russia is ready to supply LNG to Chile, which will make it possible to offset the difference in the trade balance with this country, the Russian Embassy told Izvestia. Cooperation with Chile is progressing despite Santiago's anti-Russian vector, they stressed. In general, working with the Latin American region will make it possible to diversify exports of liquefied natural gas against the background of possible sanctions from the EU, experts say. Recently, Russia has increased energy supplies to Bolivia. Cooperation in the gas sector is being discussed with Brazil. Against the background of economic problems in the country, Argentina may also show interest. However, competition with the United States may create a problem. To what extent such supplies are profitable and what is the potential for cooperation between the Russian Federation and the countries of the region in the energy sector, see the Izvestia article.
Which Latin American countries could Russia cooperate with on LNG
Russia is interested in supplying liquefied natural gas to Chile, the Russian Embassy in the Latin American country told Izvestia.
— At one time, Santiago was considering the possibility of purchasing Russian petroleum products, including LNG. However, the initiative did not receive further development. In general, we believe that the purchase of gas from Russia could become a promising area of cooperation, primarily for Chile, as part of the diversification of the import matrix and thus strengthening the country's energy security, they stressed.
According to diplomats, Chile imports almost the entire volume of consumed hydrocarbons. Most of the fuel is supplied from the USA and Argentina.
"Russian LNG exports to Chile are possible, Russia has recently increased energy supplies to neighboring Bolivia, and Santiago is also very interested in diversifying imports and reducing dependence on Argentina," said Maxim Gabrielyan, an expert on Latin America.
Chile, of course, is more of a pro-American country and usually operates in the wake of the United States, but if it is beneficial to them, it will be the first to move towards economic rapprochement with the Russian Federation. "This is a country of chemically pure capitalism, so to speak," said political analyst Igor Pshenichnikov.
Restrictions on further cooperation may be imposed by the policy of the current President Gabriel Boric. After the start of its military operation, the Chilean authorities took a pro-Ukrainian position.
— To put it mildly, the political dialogue with Russia, which has been frozen by the Chilean side since March 2022, as part of Santiago's joining the anti-Russian rhetoric of the West, does not help to resolve issues of developing economic ties. And this, of course, cannot but affect other areas of cooperation, including trade, cultural and humanitarian exchanges," the embassy said.
But a window of opportunity may open here following the results of the next electoral cycle — the elections are scheduled for November 2025, Maxim Gabrielyan noted.
On the other hand, the pro-Ukrainian position of the authorities does not always hinder economic cooperation between the countries. In particular, Argentina is not going to sever trade ties and continues to actively interact with Russia, despite the pro-American President Javier Miley. In an interview with Izvestia, the Latin American country's ambassador to Russia, Enrique Ignacio Ferrer Vieira, said that despite the difficult political situation, trade between Russia and Argentina would grow. By the way, Buenos Aires may also be interested in Russian LNG.
— The economic situation in Argentina is difficult now in the wake of all these protests. When Javier Miley came to power, they voted for him because Argentines no longer believe in either the right or the left. In order to save money, the country can also buy our gas. Although they have large deposits of shale gas, they have not yet been developed," explained Igor Pshenichnikov.
As for Russia, it is one of the top 5 global LNG producers, and expanding the geography of its exports is in Moscow's economic interests. Considering that it is not necessary to build a pipeline to export liquefied natural gas, theoretically it can be delivered almost anywhere in the world.
In addition, the search for new markets for Russian energy exports is particularly relevant against the background of Europe's gradual withdrawal from any cooperation with Russia in this area. In early May, the European Commission presented a plan for the gradual withdrawal of Russian oil, gas and nuclear energy from EU markets in a "coordinated and safe manner," which, among other things, assumes a complete cessation of Russian gas imports by the end of 2027.
— Geographical remoteness is not the most important point, modern technology allows LNG to be transported over any distance. Russian LNG is already going to Asian countries bypassing the Red Sea, which is a very long distance. This way you can reach Chile and other Latin American countries. It's just a question of geopolitics. The LNG market is quite promising, and this fuel will occupy a large share in the energy balance in the world," Stanislav Mitrakhovich, a leading expert at the National Energy Security Foundation and the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, said in a conversation with Izvestia.
Previously, Russia had already exported small amounts of energy resources to Argentina and Puerto Rico, and in 2018 the first batch of LNG was delivered to Brazil. In the fall of 2024, the parties discussed how to deepen cooperation in the energy sector, in particular in gas trade.
Mexico is also showing interest in cooperation with Russia in the field of LNG infrastructure. Earlier, Russian Ambassador to this country Nikolai Sofinsky told Izvestia that the topic of LNG was raised during bilateral meetings with relevant Mexican agencies, including the Ministry of Energy. The parties discussed the possibility of exchanging experience and establishing working contacts in the field of LNG infrastructure with the prospect of participation of companies from both countries in future projects.
There remains the issue of Russia's competition with larger LNG exporters, especially the United States, Stanislav Mitrakhovich notes. In 2024, Washington increased LNG exports to Latin America and the Caribbean by 40% compared to the previous year.
Trade relations between Russia and Chile
Despite the political position of the top leadership of Chile, Santiago and Moscow still manage to successfully conduct trade. According to the international platform The Observatory of Economic Complexity, in 2024, Chilean exports to Russia increased by 20.7%, from $36 million to $43.5 million.
— Chile is an important supplier of high—quality products to the Russian market — salmon, wine, fruits and other agricultural products. Russia, represented by the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Control, monitors the quality of goods of animal and plant origin imported from abroad into our country, regardless of which country they come from, including Chile, the Russian Embassy said.
Given the large volumes of products, there are inevitably cases when individual batches of products do not meet Russian requirements, and in this case, supplies from one or another foreign supplier are temporarily suspended until the deficiencies are eliminated.
— We know about such situations. We emphasize that these are working moments that should not be considered as something unusual," they added.
In February 2025 alone, Chile exported $25.5 million worth of fish, $4.1 million worth of fish products and $1.69 million worth of wine to Russia. This month, the Latin American state imported mainly sunflower seeds from Russia.
— Russia and Chile continue to develop trade in the agricultural sector. In 2024, the volume of mutual trade in agricultural products, raw materials and foodstuffs amounted to $506 million. During this period, 24.6 thousand were imported from Russia to Chile. tons of products worth $25.7 million," the diplomatic mission said.
Among the most promising Russian exports to Chile are vegetable oils, grain processing products, potato flakes, fish oil, confectionery, alcoholic beverages, malt, milk powder, high—protein protein, tea and coffee. New supplies worth about $8 million are in the works, the diplomats said.
Chile has a fairly high income level. According to IMF forecasts, in 2025, GDP per capita will reach $35.1 thousand ($1.3 thousand more than last year). Only Panama ($43.8 thousand) and Uruguay ($37 thousand) are ahead of Chile in this indicator in the region. Therefore, there is a demand for high-quality premium products in the country.: whole grain flour, gluten-free products, and healthy food products. This area can potentially become promising for the development of Russian exports to Chile.
So far, Chilean exports to Russia exceed imports, and this is primarily due to the fact that Moscow is mainly focused on exporting resources, in particular fertilizers, which are not much needed in Chile. The imbalance can be corrected, among other things, by LNG supplies.
"For us, this would mean leveling the trade balance, since at the current stage the volume of Chilean exports to Russia significantly exceeds the supply of goods from our country," the Russian Embassy noted.
At the same time, other export directions from the Russian Federation, non-energy, cannot be called particularly promising. Chile is to a lesser extent an agricultural country, as the basis of its economy is copper mining and fishing, and there is a systemic limitation here, Maxim Gabrielyan emphasized.
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