Russia’s largest independent natural gas producer and LNG project operator Novatek has hit a milestone in its natural gas field development program.
The company said on Monday it has reached one trillion cubic meters in cumulative natural gas production since starting its natural gas field development program.
Novatek began natural gas production at its East-Tarkosalinskoye field with the launch of the first gas treatment unit in 1998. Subsequently, the company started developing deeper gas condensate bearing layers.
The combination of natural gas produced from subsidiary companies and joint ventures has steadily increased over the past years, and with the launch of its flagship Yamal LNG project in 2017, Novatek has transformed from providing natural gas to the Russian domestic market to a global LNG player.
“We have built a natural gas platform both domestically and now internationally with our Yamal LNG project that is one of the most cost-competitive in the industry,” noted Leonid Mikhelson, Novatek’s chairman.
Yamal LNG is a 17.4 mtpa natural gas liquefaction plant comprised of three trains of 5.5 mtpa each and one LNG train of 900 thousand tons per annum, utilizing the hydrocarbon resources of the South-Tambeyskoye field in the Russian Arctic.
The first train began production in the fourth quarter of 2017 while trains 2 and 3 started producing the fuel in July 2018 and November 2018, respectively.
Yamal LNG shareholders include Novatek (50.1 percent), France’s Total (20 percent), China’s CNPC (20 percent), and the Silk Road Fund (9.9 percent).