The West’s sanctions against Russia are slowly having an effect. Russian gas producer Novatek faced a series of technical difficulties after U.S. energy services provider Baker Hughes reportedly suspended all services to Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in June. Baker Hughes reportedly refused to supply the gas turbines needed for gas liquefaction and power supply for the LNG development project in the Russian Arctic. The plan was for BH to supply about 20 LM9000 turbines of up to 75 MW capacity for three Arctic LNG-2 lines.
At the same time, Novatek emphasizes that the LM9000 turbines are advanced in their installation and quite difficult to maintain, and without the manufacturer’s support and supply of spare parts, maintenance problems could occur in the long run.
Novatek now plans to place an order for a floating power plant from the Turkish company “Karpowership” for the first line of the huge Arctic LNG 2 project. This was reported by Russian media last week.
The Moscow-listed gas producer now plans to supply power for the first line of the Arctic LNG 2 project from a 300- to 400-megawatt floating power plant to be purchased by the Turkish company. This is reported by Kommersant newspaper with reference to reliable sources.
Before the Ukraine conflict, the $21 billion project was scheduled to start in 2023 and reach full production capacity of nearly 20 million tons of liquid natural gas per year in 2026.
Novatek’s CEO said in June that the company aims to start up the first line of its Arctic LNG-2 plant on the Gydan Peninsula in 2023.
In total, Arctic LNG 2 has three planned operating lines, each with an annual capacity of 6.6 million tons of LNG.
It is not yet clear when “Karpowership” will be able to deliver the floating power plant. It is very likely that the same type of power plant will be used for the second and third LNG plants.
“Karpowership” is one of the world’s largest operators of floating power plants. The company delivers its ships mainly to countries with severe energy shortages. It owns and operates a fleet of about 20 vessels that supply electricity to several countries, including Lebanon, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Mozambique, Ghana and Indonesia.
Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2 is seen as key to Russia’s plans to increase its share of the global liquefied natural gas market to one-fifth by 2035 and to boost its annual LNG production to between 120 and 140 million tons from the current level of around 30 million tons.
But analysts say Russia will have to rethink its goal after the West imposed sanctions on targeted equipment it needs to expand production.
Heiner Kubny, PolarJournal
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