Arctic LNG 2 expected to dispatch first shipment in Feb - Novak

KALININGRAD. Jan 26 (Interfax) - The first shipment of liquefied natural gas from Novatek's Arctic LNG 2 project might be dispatched in February, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said.

"According to the information the company is providing, this will probably be sometime in February," Novak told reporters. In December, he said the first train of the Arctic LNG 2 plant had "essentially begun working" and the "first shipments are expected in the first quarter of 2024."

The United States imposed sanctions against Arctic LNG 2 LLC in November 2023. Arctic Transshipment LLC, the owner of LNG terminals in Murmansk and Kamchatka, as well as a number of contractors for the project were hit by sanctions earlier.

In mid-December it emerged that Novatek had declared a force majeure on future LNG supplies to some buyers due to the U.S. sanctions. Interfax sources attributed this to the positions of banks and shipowners, who are afraid to provide financial and transport services because of the sanctions. Novatek has taken a time-out to tackle the problem, declaring a force majeure so as to avoid penalties in the event that deliveries are delayed, the sources said.