"First of all, the Arctic LNG 2 will be fully launched. And I think that as early as a year after we will launch the next one [LNG plant]", Mikhelson said on the sidelines of the 5th International Arctic Forum in St. Petersburg. According to Mikhelson, the exact dates will depend on the construction schedule of the platforms on the Novatek-Murmansk project. Approximately, it will take 1.5 years to build one platform, and as soon as one of the dry docks is released, the next construction begins on it.
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"We are building capacities in Murmansk. You know, there are two dry docks there. We start casting the first platform in July, we will commission the second dock in the second quarter of next year [2020], and we will be [casting] the second [platform]. Now let's see in what time we can do it […] We have indicated that we are launching the first line [of Arctic LNG 2] in 2022-2023", the Novatek chief said.
Founded in 1994, Novatek has recently become one of Russia's largest gas producers. Back in 2017 it successfully entered the global gas market by launching the Yamal LNG project. The company's activities are mainly concentrated in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region in Russia's Far North. It is the world’s largest natural gas producing area and accounts for nearly 80 percent of Russia’s natural gas production.
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