Novatek signs LNG agreement with KOGAS

The deal was sealed with the signing of a MoU between the Chairman of the Management Board of Novatek, Leonid Mikhelson, and President and CEO of KOGAS, Seung-Il Cheong, on 22 June.

Under the MoU, the parties agreed to explore opportunities for KOGAS to enter the Arctic LNG 2 project and possible LNG off-take from the project, participate in the LNG transshipment project in Kamchatka and other infrastructure projects, as well as develop cooperation in LNG trading and logistics optimization, including swap operations.

Arctic LNG 2 is a giant LNG project lead by Novatek on the Gydan Peninsula in the north of Siberia. Earlier in May, French oil major Total acquired a 10% stake in the project.

With a production capacity of approximately 19.8 million tons per year (Mt/year), or 535,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), Arctic LNG 2 is expected to unlock more than 7 billion boe of hydrocarbons’ resources in the onshore Utrenneye gas and condensate field. The project will involve the installation of three gravity-based structures in the Gulf of Ob on which will be installed the three liquefaction trains of 6.6 Mt/year capacity each.

NOVATEK’s Chairman of Management Board Leonid Mikhelson noted:

"The Asian Pacific markets are a priority destination for our LNG projects as this important geographical region represents the fastest growing markets for natural gas consumption, and South Korea is presently one of the largest importers of LNG...The competitiveness and attractiveness of our future LNG projects is once again confirmed with the signing of this MoU with KOGAS – one of the largest players on the Asian LNG market."