MOSCOW, April 18 (PRIME/RIA Novosti) – Russia's second largest gas producer Novatek expects a contract to supply Siberian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China will be signed during a May visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Asian country, the CEO of the company told reporters Friday.
“We are planning for it during the visit in May,” Leonid Mikhelson said, responding to a question about the projected time frame for the signing of the contract.
Mikhelson added that the document will contain specific figures, including price levels. He said that some 75-78 percent of production at the Yamal LNG project has already been contracted, and the company may reach 100 percent soon.
China’s CNPC owns 20 percent of the Yamal LNG project. The agreement to buy a stake in the project, signed last September, provides for a long-term LNG supply contract with a minimum delivery of 3 million tons per year to China.
Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said earlier that a number of bilateral agreements are expected to be signed during Putin’s visit to China next month.
Novatek, controlled by billionaires Gennady Timchenko and CEO Leonid Mikhelson, partnered with China’s CNPC and France’s Total in the $20 billion LNG project on the Arctic Yamal peninsula.
The Yamal LNG Project involves the construction of facilities to supply 16.5 million tons of LNG per year from the resource base of South Tambeiskoye.
Confirmed and potential reserves of gas as of December 31, 2013 under PRMS standards are estimated at 927 billion cubic meters.
