Russia’s largest independent natural gas producer, Novatek, is set to start up the first liquefaction train at its Yamal LNG project in November.
During his meeting with his Moroccan counterpart Aziz Rabbah, Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said the project’s first stage will be launched in November, business news agency Prime reports.
The three-train Yamal LNG plant, designed to produce about 16.5 million tonnes per year, will liquefy natural gas from the South Tambey field on the Yamal Peninsula in Russia’s West Siberia.
The facility is being built in three phases scheduled for start-up in 2017, 2018 and 2019, however, Novatek’s chief executive and co-owner Leonid Mikhelson was earlier reported as saying the $27 billion project’s stage two and three could come online three and six to nine months ahead of schedule, respectively.
Novatek is the operator and holds a 50.1 percent stake in Yamal LNG. China’s CNPC and Total of France have a 20 percent stake, each, while China’s Silk Road Fund has a 9.9 percent stake in the LNG project.
LNG World News Staff