SCF’s LNG Carrier Loads 1st Cargo from Yamal LNG’s 2nd Train

The liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Pskov loaded the first cargo produced at Yamal LNG plant’s second LNG train, marking the official commissioning of the train in a record time.

The cargo was loaded on August 9, 2018, at the Port of Sabetta (YNAD), six months ahead of schedule.

Pskov, a 2014-built Atlanticmax LNG carrier with a cargo capacity of 170,000 cbm, is on a long-term time charter with Gazprom. The vessel is currently sub-chartered to Yamal LNG and transports LNG from the Yamal Peninsula to West European ports.

After completing cargo operations, the LNG carrier left the Port of Sabetta and is sailing westward along the Northern Sea Route. The current ice conditions along the route allow the vessel to proceed without icebreaker assistance, Russian shipping company Sovcomflot, the owner of the vessel, said.

The first gas input from the second LNG train took place on July 21 and the train is now operating at its rated nameplate capacity of 5.5 million tons per annum (mmpta). The total capacity of the two working LNG trains is 11 mmpta, Russian gas producer Novatek informed.

”We have not only commissioned the first train at Yamal LNG on time and on budget, but we have significantly expedited the formal commissioning of the second train,” Novatek’s Chairman of Management Board, Leonid Mikhelson, said.

“Presently, the third LNG train start-up is also expected to be launched significantly ahead of original schedule – an unprecedented achievement for the LNG industry. (…) Our strategic goal is to produce between 55 and 60 mmtpa by 2030.”