Novatek Gets Profit Boost from Arctic LNG-2 Sales

Net profits at Russia's top LNG exporter Novatek shot up to rubles 865.5bn ($13.6bn) in 2019, from rubles 163.7bn in the year before, on the back of sales of stakes in its $21.3bn Arctic LNG-2 export project.

Revenues were also up 3.7% at 862.8bn, while core earnings (Ebitda) increased 11% to rubles 461.2bn, the company said in its financial report on February 19. It attributed these gains to higher sales from the Yamal LNG project, which reached its full three-train capacity at the end of 2018, and higher gas prices in Russia. These factors more than offset the impact of weaker international gas prices.

Novatek netted rubles 675bn last year from the sale of 40% of Arctic LNG-2 to  France's Total, China's CNPC and Cnooc and Japan's Mitsui and Jogmec.