Novatek Board has decided to establish a transportation subsidiary called Maritime Arctic Transport LLC to manage and optimize transportation costs, building up the competencies of Arctic navigation and ensuring centralized management of the Arctic fleet.
“Novatek’s’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. Therefore, establishing an efficient Northern Sea Route shipping model is one of our key priorities to realize our 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”, Leonid Mikhelson, Chairman of the Novatek Management Board commented.
So far it is not clear what assets the company will have and whether it is going to be a ship owner and/or operator.
Most likely, the decision to establish a new subsidiary is connected with another decision announced recently – the company has chosen the location for its would-be export LNG terminal in the Kamchatka Peninsula. The facility is to be built in the Bechevinskaya Bay (formerly, another location in the Mokhovaya Bay was considered). The new terminal is to export gas produced in the framework of Arctic LNG 2 project.