TotalEnergies takes 10% stake in Novatek's LNG transshipment terminals
France's TotalEnergies (TE) has agreed to take a 10% stake in two LNG transshipment terminals that Russian gas supplier Novatek is building in Kamchatka and Murmansk, the companies said June 3.
The pair signed the share purchase deal at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, along with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on decarbonisation, hydrogen and renewables.
|
Advertisement: The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) NGC’s HSSE strategy is reflective and supportive of the organisational vision to become a leader in the global energy business. |
The two transshipment terminals, each equipped with 360,000-m3 floating LNG storage units, are designed to facilitate LNG supplies from the nameplate three-train 16.5mn metric ton/year Yamal LNG and the other LNG export terminals Novatek is developing in the Arctic to markets in Asia and Europe. Specialised ice-breaking LNG carriers will offload their cargoes at the terminals, which will be then be collected by conventional tankers, saving time and cost.
Novatek expects the facilities to be up and running in 2023, coinciding with the launch of Novatek's 19.8mn mt/yr Arctic LNG-2 project. CEO Leonid Mikhelson said the facilities would "ensure the optimal utilisation of our ice tanker fleet and reduce the cost of transport to consuming markets for the company's existing and future LNG projects.” He said TE would "enhance the competitiveness of our joint projects and contribute to the successful development of our LNG logistics chain in accordance with best industry practices in environmental protection and climate change mitigation.”
Decarbonising with hydrogen
Under the MoU, the two companies will look at producing and using hydrogen as a fuel, and marketing carbon-neutral products including LNG, Novatek said. They will also co-operate in making power generation at LNG facilities more efficient, including by using waste heat utilisation technologies. They will consider converting gas turbine equipment to run on hydrogen and constructing wind turbines and other renewable facilities to reduce the carbon footprint of LNG supply.
"Our long-term goal is to provide the global markets with affordable, secure and low-carbon natural gas, and the cooperation with TE our partners is one way for us to contribute to the decarbonisation of the global energy industry," Mikhelson said.
Novatek announced earlier in the day it would potentially buy renewable power from Finland's Fortum in Russia in order to reduce the Scope 2 emissions from its Cryogas-Vysotsk LNG plant in the country's northwest.
TE, which changed its name late May, is a 19.4% shareholder in Novatek and holds a 20% stake in Yamal LNG, which started up in December 2017 and produced more than 18.8mn mt of LNG in 2020. The company also holds a 10% stake in Arctic LNG 2, now under construction and on track to deliver its first LNG cargo in 2023. Its LNG head, Thomas Maurisse, told NGW in April that it would work with its local partners to lower emissions along the LNG chain.