Russia's Novatek sets up transportation unit

Russia’s Novatek sets up transportation unit

Russia’s largest independent natural gas producer, and Yamal LNG project operator, Novatek created a transportation unit called Maritime Arctic Transport.

Image courtesy of Novatek

The company created the transport company with the aim to manage and optimize transportation costs, build up the unique competencies of Arctic navigation and ensure centralized management of the Arctic fleet.

Novatek’s chairman Leonid Mikhelson said, “Novatek’s long-term development strategy envisages a significant growth in LNG production from the company’s vast hydrocarbon resource base located on the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas in the Arctic zone of more than 55 million tons per annum by 2030.”

He added that establishing an efficient Northern Sea Route shipping model is one of its key priorities to realize its long-term strategy.

“Creating our own shipping company fully supports this goal and will optimize transport cost and ensure a well-balanced, centralized management structure to improve the competitiveness of Novatek’s Arctic projects,” he said.

The company’s Yamal LNG project started exporting in December last year and is working on its second Arctic LNG project, the Arctic LNG 2 project.

In an interview with LNG World News, the company’s CFO Mark Gyetvay said the company is looking to up its exporting capacity to 60 million tonnes by 2030.