Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday opened the first phase of Arctic LNG 2 in Murmansk, the giant liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Arctic that French company TotalEnergies withdrew from in 2022.
“I ask for permission to start transport operations at sea,” the operator said during the launching ceremony, broadcast on Russian television, according to the Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“Permitted,” Putin replied, pulling the lever along with Leonid Mikhelson, director of the gas giant Novatek.
This $21 billion project is located on the Gydan Peninsula, about thirty kilometers from the first giant LNG plant on the Yamal Peninsula, which went online in 2017.
The project is expected to reach a production capacity of 19.8 million tonnes of LNG per annum through three production lines exploiting the nearby Utrenneye rich gas field.
French TotalEnergies announced in 2022, after the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, the termination of funding for Arctic LNG 2, in which Novatek owns 60% along with Chinese CNPC and CNOOC and Japanese Japan Arctic LNG.
Arctic LNG 2 is one of the key projects in Russia’s planned development of the Northern Sea Route linking Asia and Europe.
Moscow hopes that this Arctic route, made possible by global warming and melting ice, will be able to compete with the Suez Canal in hydrocarbon trade in the future.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.