Russia today began production from the Yamal LNG project, the country’s second liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant.
With 8 December set as the prospective date for shipping the inaugural LNG cargo from the Arctic, President Putin has said he wants Russia to be the largest global LNG producer.
Russia is looking to produce over 70 million tonnes of LNG each year.
This second plant, costing $27billion, has been given the green-light by officials.
Novatek confirmed that the first train shipment is expected to hold 5.5 million tonnes of fuel growing to 17.5 million by the end of 2019.
Novatek owns a 50.1% stake in Yamal LNG. France’s Total and China National Petroleum Corp each control 20%, while China’s Silk Road Fund owns 9.9%.
With one LNG facility currently operated by Gazprom and co-owned with Shell, Russia is seeking to build within the Arctic regions.
Reuters have reported that Chinese banks ploughed in $12 billion, with further financing coming from Russian and European banks and the Russia’s National Wealth Fund.
Yamal LNG’s consortium has said that they see Asia as their biggest market in the long-term.