Russia’s Novatek launches first LNG cargo from Yamal’s second train

Russia’s largest independent natural gas producer, Novatek said Thursday it shipped its first cargo of liquefied natural gas from the second production unit at the Yamal LNG project in the Arctic.

The second LNG train commissioned six months ahead of its original schedule, and combined with the first LNG train launch in December 2017, has achieved the commissioning of the first two LNG trains in record time, according to a Novatek statement.

The first gas input into the second LNG train started on the 21st July and is now operating at its rated nameplate capacity of 5.5 million tons per annum, the statement reads.

The total capacity of the two working LNG trains is 11 million tons per annum.

To date, 47 LNG cargoes have been offloaded with more than 3.5 million tons of LNG produced from the $27 billion Yamal project, Russia’s second LNG export project.

Besides Novatek, Yamal LNG’s shareholders include France’s Total, China’s CNPC and Silk Road Fund.

”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 chief Leonid Mikhelson said in the statement.

“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. The total operating capacity of the two working LNG trains already approximates about 3.5% of the global LNG market and becomes a significant project in the context of the global LNG landscape,” Michelson said.

He added that the Russian company’s strategic goal is to produce between 55 and 60 million tons per annum of LNG by 2030.