MOSCOW, April 13. /TASS/. Novatek has obtained a Russian patent for its proprietary natural gas liquefaction technology called Arctic Cascade Modified (ACM), which builds upon the company’s patented Arctic Cascade process already implemented at the Yamal LNG project’s Train 4, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

"Stemming from operational lessons learned, improvements to the technology enable LNG production with a leaner equipment list and better energy efficiency. The underlying process design is compatible with domestically manufactured equipment," Novatek said.

The ACM liquefaction process is intended for the company’s large-scale LNG projects in the Arctic with a production capacity of 3 mln tons of LNG a year per LNG train.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said earlier in an interview with TASS that the capacity of the Russian medium-capacity technology Arctic Cascade might be increased from 1 mln to 2-3 mln tons, adding that concurrently Russia also developed a large-capacity gas liquefaction technology with a capacity of 5-6 mln tons with structures of Rosatom, Novatek and Gazprom.

Russia has been involved in substituting import of LNG technologies and subsidizing equipment creation since 2014, Novak said, noting that an increase in Russia’s LNG production was increasingly relevant as it permitted reducing the dependence on transit countries. The country plans to increase production to 64 mln tons per year in coming years, and to reach 100 mln tons by 2035, he said.