The U.S. State Department on Sept. 5 announced sanctions against two vessels and two entities connected to Russia’s sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project. Arctic LNG 2, owned by Russia’s Novatek company, is aimed at producing almost 20 million metric tons of liquified natural gas (LNG) per year to sell primarily to Asian markets, potentially generating billions of dollars in revenue. It was envisaged as Russia’s largest LNG plant and a flagship project that would help the country become the world’s leading LNG producer. The new sanctions come as another step by Washington designed to stifle Russian …