Novatek in Talks on LNG Transhipment
Russia's liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer Novatek is in talks to tranship its Yamal cargoes in Norway or Russia's Murmansk because it is unsure of the impact of U.S. sanctions on the Chinese COSCO tankers it uses, a Novatek official said.The United States imposed sanctions on Sept. 25 on state-owned COSCO's subsidiaries, COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Co and COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Seaman & Ship Management, for allegedly ferrying Iranian crude.U.S.-listed ship owner Teekay LNG said last week its shipping joint venture in Russia, Yamal LNG, had been "blocked" by the U.S.
Russia Ships Record High LNG Volumes to Europe
Russia delivered a record amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe in February, becoming the biggest supplier of the chilled fuel to the continent for the first time.A total of 19 cargoes, or 1.41 million tonnes, of LNG from the Yamal LNG plant in Russia's Arctic reached regasification terminals in Europe in February, with the majority of those going to northwest Europe, Refinitiv Eikon data shows.This is the largest monthly amount of LNG from Yamal to arrive in Europe since the plant was launched in Dec.
Novatek Aims to Topple Qatar from LNG Top Spot
Russian gas producer Novatek aims to topple Qatar as the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas as it gets closer to completing its first LNG project, a top executive said, batting away concerns about U.S. sanctions on the sector. The country's largest non-state gas producer is expected to start exporting LNG from the first phase of the Yamal project, situated far above the Arctic circle, towards the end of this year and may bring forward its final stage by six months, CFO Mark Gyetvay said.
Novatek Says No Need to Borrow More for Yamal LNG Project
Russia's largest private gas producer Novatek has no need to increase borrowing as it has sufficient funds for investments into its Yamal LNG project, the company's management said on Wednesday. At a conference call with analysts, Novatek's chief executive Leonid Mikhelson said his company has already invested $22 billion in Yamal LNG after securing borrowing on both global and domestic markets. He said Yamal LNG, a project to build Russia's second gas liquefaction plant, will receive another $6 billion in investment this year. Novatek's chief financial officer Mark Gyetvay, who was on the same call, said that the overall capital investment of Novatek is seen at 40 billion roubles ($689.42 million) in 2017. (Reporting by Denis Pinchuk; Writing by Andrey Ostroukh)
Yamal LNG Over 50% Complete
Novatek deputy chairman and CFO Mark Gyetvay said the Yamal LNG project in Russia have now passed the 50 percent overall completion mark. Gyetvay noted that 100 percent of the Yamal LNG’s production capacity has been sold. Additionally, he confirmed the first cargo from Yamal LNG’s first train, which has passed the 65 percent completion mark, will be shipped during the second quarter of 2017. Gyetvay said Yamal LNG was "very competitive" with other LNG projects globally, not least given the very low feedstock and other costs. Novatek was also looking at the possibility of building a brand new LNG facility on the nearby Gydan Peninsula to the east of Yamal, he added.
