Launch of the third stage of the Yamal LNG plant

Dmitry Medvedev delivered remarks at the ceremony to launch the third train of the Yamal gas liquefaction plant.

The Yamal LNG gas liquefaction project is underway at the South Tambeyskoye field on the Yamal Peninsula.

The project operator is Yamal LNG, a joint venture of Russian gas producer Novatek, France’s Total and China’s CNPC and Silk Road Fund.

Initially, the plant was designed to consist of three trains (gas liquefaction and purification facilities), each with a capacity of 16.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG and up to 1.2 mtpa of gas condensate, to be delivered to Asia Pacific markets and also to Europe.

The first train was launched in December 2017, and the plant’s second facility became operational six months ahead of schedule in August 2018.

The hundredth batch comprising 7.4 mt of LNG was shipped from the plant in December 2018.

It has also been decided to build the fourth train with the capacity of up to 1 mtpa based on Novatek’s proprietary liquefaction technology called Arctic Cascade.

The throughput of the Northern Sea Route has increased several-fold due to shipments from Yamal LNG.

The project involves over 650 companies from 55 Russian regions and some 60,000 personnel. Icebreakers and port vessels for Yamal LNG are being built at Russian shipyards. Government support measures have been approved for the project.

The launch of all the planned trains at the Yamal LNG plant will increase Russia’s share on the global LNG market by 2.5 times to reach some 10 percent.