MOSCOW: Chinese, Korean and Japanese firms are being invited to compete for a large minority stake in a huge LNG project being developed by Russia's largest independent gas producer Novatek, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said.
Novatek has said it plans to retain at least 51 percent of the Yamal scheme in the Russian Arctic but has been looking for partners to help develop it.
France's Total already owns 20 percent of the project, for which total investments are estimated in the range of $18-20 billion.
"Novatek is ready to cut its stake to 51 percent. It has offered (a 29 percent stake) to Chinese, Korean and Japanese companies. There will be a competition," Novak told reporters on Saturday.
He also said authorities were discussing possible ways to soften a gas export monopoly currently held by state-owned Gazprom for sales to Asia.
Novatek recently joined forces with Russia's top oil producer Rosneft in lobbying against the monopoly.
France's EDF and Indian companies have also been named as potential contenders for Novatek's LNG plant, while Qatar's interest in Yamal has cooled.
The project will develop the South Tambey field located in the Arctic area of the Yamal peninsula. The condensate and gas field is expected to produce 15 million tonnes of LNG per year from 2018.
For now, Russia has only one active natural gas liquefaction plant, operated by Gazprom, Royal Dutch Shell and Mitsui at Sakhalin-2, producing around 10 million tonnes of LNG annually.
Russia, the world's second biggest gas producer after the United States, exports bulk of its gas to Europe via pipelines but needs to build more plants for the more export-flexible LNG, given that demand in Europe is weak.
Global gas demand is expected to reach five trillion cubic metres by 2035, up 32 percent from 2012 levels, driven by economic growth in China, the Middle East and rising consumption in North America, according to the International Energy Agency.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.