Russian energy giant Gazprom confirmed on Friday that it has made the first delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China via the Arctic Northern Sea Route.

Russian authorities hope the route will help increase oil and gas deliveries to Asia at a time when Moscow's traditional European clients are ramping down their energy dependence on Russia following the war in Ukraine.

"Gazprom has for the first time delivered its own LNG production along the Northern Sea Route," the company said in a statement.

The Arctic route cuts down the duration of shipments by more than a week compared with using the Suez Canal in Egypt.

Gazprom indicated that LNG carrier Velikiy Novgorod, which left the LNG terminal at Portovaya outside the western city of St. Petersburg on August 14, finished discharging its cargo Friday at the northeastern Chinese port of Tangshan in Hebei province.

Private group Novatek, the number two natural gas producer in Russia behind Gazprom, used the same route to deliver to China in 2018.

The route "allows a substantial reduction in the time it takes to make LNG deliveries to Asia-Pacific countries," Gazprom explained.

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