Yamal LNG to issue first shareholder return

Russian energy consortium Yamal LNG said December 10 that it decided to pay dividends to project shareholders for the first time.

Yamal LNG operates a four-train facility that processes resources from the South-Tambeyskoye natural gas field in the Russian Arctic. The first train from the 17.4mn metric ton/year facility began production in December 2017.

At the recent extraordinary meeting for shareholders in Yamal LNG, it was resolved to pay out dividend payments of 31.4bn rubles ($426mn) for the first nine months of 2021.

Russia's Novatek has a controlling interest in the venture of 50.1%. French major TotalEnergies and China’s CNPC each own an additional 20% in the consortium, while China’s Silk Road Fund holds the remaining 9.9% stake.

Novatek in October reported normalised Ebitda at 181.8bn rubles for the three-month period, almost double the 93.9bn a year earlier. Revenues surged to 276.7bn from 163.8bn rubles, while profit attributable to shareholders climbed to 112.9bn from 13.2bn rubles.

The company's production averaged 149,500 barrels of oil equivalent/day in the third quarter, slightly down from 150,400 boe/d a year earlier.