Novatek announces third LNG project in Arctic Russia
The Ob LNG will be developed exclusively with Russian technology.
As if in a great rush to develop its Arctic resources, Russian natural gas company Novatek this week made clear that it is starting the development of a third LNG project in the Yamal region.
The Ob LNG will be based on the resources of the Verkhnetiuteyskoye and Zapadno-Seyakhinskoye fields, two structures located in the central part of the Yamal Peninsula. The fields hold a total of 157 billion cubic meters of natural gas and the projected new plant will produce up to 4.8 million tons of LNG per year.
The plant and adjacent infrastructure will cost $5 billion and is to come in operation in 2023, newspaper Kommersant reports with reference to a high-ranking representative of Novatek.
The development of the Ob LNG will run parallel to the Arctic LNG 2, the company’s far bigger project currently under development on the nearby Gydan Peninsula. The Arctic LNG 2 will produce up to 19.8 million tons, and the first of the projected three trains is to be ready by 2023.
The announcement of the Ob LNG comes a the same time as Novatek signs a major contract with UK-based TechnipFMC on engineering and construction of the Arctic LNG 2.
Novatek’s first Arctic project, the Yamal LNG, is already operating at full speed, which means an annual production of up to 16.5 million tons.
Unlike the two other projects, the Ob LNG will be built exclusively with Russian-made technology. This will be up twice as cheap as with foreign technology, Kommersant writes.
The new plant will be built in Sabetta, near the installations serving the Yamal LNG. A pipeline will connect the plant with the two gas fields, and the Sabetta sea terminal will provide a route for exports.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Ottawa signals it’s open to talks on offshore Arctic oil and gas development, Radio Canada International
Norway: Greenpeace activists board oil platform in Arctic Norway, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: Chinese rig makes massive gas discovery in Arctic Russia, The Independent Barents Observer
United States: Bill to protect ANWR passes early hurdle in Washington, CBC News
