MOSCOW, April 6. /TASS/. Novatek has already initiated deliveries of liquefied natural gas (LNG) under major contracts, Chief Executive Officer of the Russian gas producer Leonid Mikhelson told reporters on Friday.
"[We] have already started. From April 1," the top manager said.
"About 3 mln tonnes have already been contracted for Gazprom; it will get five or six lots this year. The same volume of 3 mln tonnes was contracted by [Yamal LNG] shareholder CNPC for the domestic market, and 5 mln tonnes by Total.
The first loading of Yamal LNG gas on board of the LNG carrier was made on December 8, Mikhelson said. First deliveries of LNG were spot-based; supplies under long-term contracts are to start from the second quarter of 2018.
Yamal LNG is the first LNG plant of Russian independent gas producer Novatek. The project is on the Yamal Peninsula in the Arctic area. It envisions three LNG trains, each with the annual capacity of 5.5 million tonnes. The first train was launched in late 2017; the second and third will be put into operation in 2018-2019. Yamal LNG’s shareholders are: Novatek (50.1%), Total (20%), CNPC (20%), and the Silk Road Fund (9.9%).