Saudi Arabia, through its state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco, is considering investing up to US$5bn in the Arctic LNG 2 project developed by Russian independent gas producer Novatek on the Gydan Peninsula in the Russian Arctic region.
The liquefaction project will consist of three liquefaction trains of 6.6 Mt/year capacity each with a total capacity of approximately 19.8 Mt/year. The final investment decision could be made as early as mid-2019, with the first train expected to start up by the end of 2023. Arctic LNG 2 will unlock more than 7 Gboe of hydrocarbon resources in the onshore Utrenneye gas and condensate field.
Novatek is considering reducing its share in the project to 40%. In May 2018, Total, which already owns a 19% stake in Novatek and takes part to its Yamal LNG plant in Russia, committed to acquire a 10% working interest in the Arctic LNG-2 liquefaction project. The project has also attracted interest from international investors, such as CNPC, Kogas and Japanese investors.