Leonid Mikhelson, Novatek CEO
© Aleksey Nikolskyi

Mikhelson: $15 billion have been invested in the Yamal LNG project

Total investments in the Novatek-led Yamal LNG project have reached $15 billion, Leonid Mikhelson, Novatek CEO, reported at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"To date, investments have reached about $15 billion, of which $2.3 billion came from Russia's National Welfare Fund and $12.6 billion were invested by shareholders," he said. According to him, Chinese investors contributed around $5 billion and French partners around $3.7 billion.

The Yamal LNG project envisages construction of an LNG plant with a capacity of 16.5 million tons a year, with the Yuzhno-Tambeiskoye field on the Yamal Peninsula as its resource base. The shareholders are Novatek (60%), Total (20%) and the China National Petroleum Corporation (20%). In addition, Novatek will close a deal with the Chinese Silk Road Fund in the near future, which signed a contract to buy from Novatek 9.9% of Yamal LNG in mid-December 2015.

The project provides for building transport infrastructure. According to Mikhelson, an airport was put into operation in February 2015 as part of the project, which has carried about 130,000 passengers since then. In addition, a cargo port operates year round, where over 3 million tons of construction materials were unloaded last year. Also, a power station is under construction, the first phase of which will be put into operation at the end of the year.