Russian President Vladimir Putin has recently instructed the government to prepare suggestions on promoting geological exploration in the Arctic before March 1. This was stated in the list of instructions issued following the meeting on the development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production projects.

"The Government has been instructed to submit proposals on measures to stimulate exploration projects in Russia's Arctic regions and the development of reserves under prospective projects involving the production, transport, storage and use of LNG based on modern Russian technology," states the instruction posted on the Kremlin's official website.

The government is to present its suggestions before March 1, 2018.

In mid-December, head of Novatek Leonid Mikhelson said that the company considers it's  necessary that the Russian government should give further support for LNG projects, and that the users of subsoil in the Arctic should be entitled to special benefits. Moreover, Mikhelson also stated that the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment suggested conducting geological exploration in the region.

Together with its foreign partners, Novatek is currently constructing Yamal LNG, a liquefied natural gas plant  on the Yamal Peninsula. The company is also planning to build another LNG plant, Arctic LNG-2, on the Gydan Peninsula.The Yamal LNG plant will be supplied from the Yuzhno-Tambeyskoye field. The list of Yamal LNG shareholders includes Novatek (50.1 percent), Total (20 percent), CNPC (20 percent) and the Silk Road Fund (9.9 percent). The project provides for the construction of three production lines with a capacity of 5.5 million tons each, and an additional one with a capacity of 1 million tons. The plant's first production line began producing LNG this December.