Novatek plans Arctic LNG 2 FID in the third quarter this year

Russian largest independent gas producer and LNG player Novatek is aiming to take a final investment decision on its second giant liquefied natural gas project in the Arctic in the third quarter of this year, according to the company’s finance chief Mark Gyetvay.

“We plan to take the FID in the early second part of the year,”  Gyetvay told LNG World News on Monday at the sidelines of the Flame conference in Amsterdam.

“Given that we already now have 30 percent of the partners, I suspect that in the next few weeks we should have the final partner for the Arctic LNG 2 announced,” he said.

Arctic LNG 2 is Novatek’s second large scale LNG export project following the giant Yamal LNG project.

France’s Total has a 10 percent stake in the Arctic LNG 2 project while China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Company (CNODC) and CNOOC have a 10 percent stake, each

The Arctic LNG 2 project includes the construction of three LNG trains at 6.6 million tons per annum each, using gravity-based structure (GBS) platforms.

Novatek plans to start pouring concrete on the first GBS platform in July, Gyetvay said.

“We have contracted about 70 percent of the equipment for the first platform,” he added.

The contract for the gravity-based structures was previously awarded to a joint venture between Saipem and Renaissance.

By Mirza Duran