Russia’s Novatek, the operator of the recently commissioned giant Yamal LNG export project, said on Monday that the first cargo from the Arctic facility had been sold to a UK-based LNG unit of Malaysian energy giant Petronas.
The first LNG cargo containing 170 thousand cubic meters of the chilled fuel has been shipped aboard Sovcomflot’s Arc7 ice-class LNG tanker Christophe de Margerie.
The cargo was bought by Petronas LNG UK Limited that has a 50% equity and capacity stake in the UK’s Dragon LNG terminal at Milford Haven.
Novatek added in its statement that LNG sales under Yamal LNG’s long-term contracts will start in April 2018.
“All LNG sales prior to that date will be sold by Yamal LNG shareholders on a spot basis,” the company said.
Novatek’s chief executive and co-owner Leonid Mikhelson said that the departure of the first Yamal LNG shipment marks the official entry of Novatek into the global gas markets.
“This event begins the process of developing and liquefying our massive natural gas resources on the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas into more than 70 million tons of LNG. This potential gives our country an opportunity to become one of the biggest global LNG exporters,” Mikhelson said.
The three-train Yamal LNG plant, designed to produce about 16.5 million tonnes per year, started liquefying natural gas from the South Tambey field on the Yamal Peninsula earlier this month.
The export project’s first liquefaction train will gradually ramp up capacity to 5.5 mtpa.
Other two trains are expected to come onstream in 2018 and 2019.
LNG World News Staff