Western sanctions nearly halt Russia's major LNG plant operations

Bloomberg reported the information.

Novatek PJSC’s Belokamenka facility on the Barents Sea, Russia's only construction site for liquefied natural gas modules, is almost mothballed. 

In late October and early November, nighttime light intensity at the plant was the lowest since 2019, according to satellite observations collected and analyzed by the Earth Observation Group at the Payne Institute for Public Policy in Colorado.

The site was supposed to be a unique center for the production of so-called LNG trains, modular processing units capable of cooling natural gas to its liquid form. But after the construction of two trains for Arctic LNG 2, Russia's newest export facility, there is no sign of the activity that would be required to further expand capacity in the near future.

The reason for this is Western sanctions on Novatek and all its future LNG projects, including production plants, transshipment facilities and tankers.

Novatek did not respond to Bloomberg's request for comment on the current level of activity at Belokamenka.

• In November, the Russian Arctic LNG 2 project reduced gas production at its fields nearly to a halt due to Western export sanctions.