LNG

The first liquefied natural gas shipment of the season after the winter break has departed from the Russian Yamal LNG export plant on its way to the Far East via the Northern Sea Route.

Novatek, the operator of the Yamal LNG plant and developer of the Arctic LNG II project, said the first three stages of international certification have been obtained for long-term carbon-dioxide underground storage sites on the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas in northern Siberia.

June 22 (LNGJ) - The European natural gas and LNG benchmark price, the Dutch Title Transfer Facility, increased to a 2021 high of $10.30 per million British thermal units as cargoes headed for Spanish ports from Russia and Nigeria. The 172,600 cubic metres capacity carrier “Christophe de Margerie” was scheduled to deliver a cargo on June 25 to the port of Bilbao in northwest Spain from the Yamal LNG plant in Russia, according to shipping data. Another cargo was due on June 25 at the Cartagena terminal in southeast Spain from the Nigerian plant at Bonny Island on board the 148,452 cubic metres capacity vessel “LNG Imo”.

June 1 (LNGJ) - The “Nikolay Yevgenov” with 172,000 cubic metres of capacity was delivering a Russian cargo on June 1 to the Isle of Grain LNG import terminal, operated by National Grid Plc, on the Medway-Thames estuary 45 miles southeast of London. The shipment, lifted on May 22 from the Yamal plant in northern Siberia, is arriving in the UK as the National Balancing Point (NBP) natural gas price was at the equivalent of $8.90 per million British thermal units. The Dutch Title Transfer (TTF)) price for Continental Europe was at the equivalent of $9.00 per MMBtu.

May 17 (LNGJ) - The LNG carrier “Vladimir Rusanov”, with 172,000 metres capacity, was berthing on May 17 with a cargo to discharge at the Isle of Grain LNG import terminal, operated by National Grid Plc on the Medway-Thames estuary 45 miles southeast of London. The shipment, lifted on May 10 from the Yamal plant in the Arctic region of northern Siberia, is arriving in the UK as the National Balancing Point (NBP) natural gas price rose on May 17 to a record 2021 level of $9.70 per million British thermal units.

Russian natural gas company and liquefied natural gas developer Novatek said it won an auction for exploration and production rights in the North-Gydanskiy licence area located in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region of the Gydan Peninsula and partly in the shallow waters of Gydan Bay in the Kara Sea.

“The North-Gydanskiy licence area has estimated hydrocarbon resources of 9.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent according to the Russian resource classification system,” said Novatek.

The licence term is 30 years and the auction resulted in a one-time payment for the licence of 775.4 million Russian roubles ($10.3M) by Novatek.

“The new licence area borders Novatek’s existing assets on the Gydan Peninsula and expands the company’s resource base for implementing new LNG projects,” explained the company.

Novatek owns the existing Yamal LNG export plant and is constructing the Arctic LNG project on the Gydan Peninsula.

Arctic LNG II will produce 19.8 million tonnes per annum of LNG as well as gas concentrate from the principal feed-gas resources, the Utrenneye gas fields, adding to the existing Yamal facility’s annual output of 17.5 MTPA.

The Russian company holds 60 percent of the Arctic LNG II project and four other 10 percent stakes are shared between various shareholders.

The 10 percent holdings belong to French major Total, which is also a shareholder in the Novatek company, China National Petroleum Corp., China National Offshore Corp. and a Japanese investor group comprising Mitsui & Co. and the government institution, the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp.

In its most recent earnings Novatek reported declines in annual revenues and profits because of the adverse effects of Covid-19 for much of 2020 and the impact of a weaker Russian rouble.

Novatek said its total gross revenues in 2020, including stakes in joint ventures, dropped by 17.5 percent to 711.8 billion roubles ($9.6Bln), and its gross profits fell 15 percent to 392.0Bln roubles ($5.3Bln).

This was largely due to a decline in global commodity prices for hydrocarbons while Novatek also reported a fall in its own LNG sales volumes on international markets.

Profits attributable to Novatek shareholders came to 169Bln roubles ($2.28Bln), excluding the effects of foreign exchange losses, down from 245.0Bln roubles ($3.3Bln) in 2019.

When counting foreign exchange losses, Novatek’s annual net income came to 67.8Bln roubles ($907 million), even as its output of natural gas increased.

Novatek’s natural gas production including its proportionate share in the production of joint ventures increased by 3.6 percent compared with 2019.

The natural gas output in 2020 amounted to 77.36 billion cubic metres, up from 74.70 Bcm in 2019.

Novatek’s own equity sales on international markets as LNG declined to 8.92 Bcm from 12.79 Bcm in 2019.

The Russian government has reduced its target for energy cargo transportation to China and Asian nations by the Northern Sea Route with only shipments of LNG close to meeting projected volumes and cargoes of coal and oil falling short.

Novatek, the natural gas company and operator of the Yamal LNG export plant in Arctic Russia, said the Arc7 ice-class LNG tanker “Christophe de Margerie” of Sovcomflot successfully transited the eastbound and ice-covered part of the Northern Sea Route and reached the Bering Strait in only 12 days.

An area off the coast of Russia to the north of the port of Murmansk in the Barents Sea is being prepared by Russian natural gas company Novatek and the authorities for Yamal LNG trans-shipments for the winter supply season when the Northern Sea Route is closed and extra shipping is also required for high volumes and long shuttle trips.