Yamal LNG to scale up Russian gas exports: Russian Dept. Min.

By Murat Temizer

ISTANBUL (AA) - Novatek's Yamal liquefied natural gas (LNG) project will increase Russia's global natural gas exports by around 10 percent, Russian Deputy Energy Minister Anton Inyutsyn said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the World Petroleum Congress, of which Anadolu Agency is the global communication partner, Inyutsyn told Anadolu Agency that Russia ranks first in gas exports globally.

He added that next year, Russian energy company Novatek's Yamal LNG project will become operational.

"It will rise and add around 10 percent more gas to our exports globally. Maybe other companies will raise this capacity further in future apart from Novatek," he said.

He explained that transport logistics differentiate LNG and pipeline gas.

"If you transport natural gas to more than 3,000 kilometers, then it is more profitable to send it as LNG, but if it is less than 3,000 kilometers, it's better to send it by pipelines," he explained.

Novatek holds a 50.1 percent share in the Yamal LNG project while Total and China's China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) each hold a 20 percent stake while the Chinese Silk Road Fund has a 9.9 percent share interest.

The Yamal LNG terminal, which plans to have an output capacity of around 16.5 million tons per year, is expected to be operational by 2018.

The project is located on the Yamal Peninsula above the Arctic Circle.

- OPEC meeting and TurkStream

The Russian minister also spoke about the TurkStream project and reiterated Novak's remarks that "fifty kilometers of the project have already been completed. The project has just started and it will be completed in 2019," he said.

The TurkStream pipeline is a transit-free export gas pipeline which will not only stretch across the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey but will further extend to Turkey's border with neighboring countries.

One line is expected to supply the Turkish market, while a second line will carry gas to southern and southeastern Europe. Each line will have the throughput capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas per year.

He also responded to a question about the next OPEC, non-OPEC meeting on July 24, and said that it would be incorrect to speculate on the outcome before negotiations, but said that a decision following talks would be announced at the meeting.