First LNG from Sakhalin II to India - data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The first cargo of liquefied natural gas from Russia's Sakhalin II export project was heading to the Hazira terminal in India, according to AISLive ship tracking data on Reuters.

Project operator Gazprom had previously said that the first cargo from Sakhalin II was intended for Japan.

Sakhalin Energy said Friday it had dispatched what it said was a "test cargo" but did not identify a destination. It said the first non-test export cargo would be shipped to Japan later this month.

"It was a test cargo," a Sakhalin Energy spokeswoman said. "The plant was commissioned last month, they started LNG producing and now they need to test the tanker and the whole system. It is a part of the start-up process. The first export cargo will be shipped as planned later in March and will go to Japan."

The Grand Aniva tanker was last seen in the East China Sea on Thursday and was expected to arrive at Hazira on April 8, according to the data.

"The tanker commenced loading on the 16th of March and is scheduled for discharge in Hazira," Houston-based Waterborne Energy said in its weekly report Friday.

According to Waterborne, two more tankers were expected to load at the terminal before the end of March, including the Energy Frontier which was expected to load on March 29 for the Sodegaura terminal in Japan.

The Sakhalin II plant will have the capacity to produce 9.6 million tonnes per year of LNG from two 4.8 million tonnes trains.

LNG is currently being produced from Train 1. Train 2 was expected to be commissioned in the first half of this year.