Saudi Arabia is willing to put some $5 billion into the $25 billion Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) project Arctic LNG 2, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) CEO Kirill Dmitriev said Tuesday.
“The Saudi energy minister has announced the possibility of investing around $5 billion in the Arctic LNG 2 project,” Dmitriev told Russian TV channel Rossiya 24.
The project, led by Novatek, is expected to be sanctioned in 2019 and start production in 2023. The plant, to be located in the Gydan Peninsula in northwest Siberia, will produce some 19.8 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of LNG.
As reported by Kallanish Energy, Total has taken a 10% stake in the project and the undisclosed deal is expected to close in March 2019. Saudi Arabia’s state company, Saudi Aramco, has shown great interest in the project and said Arctic LNG 2 would “become part of Aramco’s gas strategy.”
South Korea’s KOGAS is also likely to join the project, following a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Novatek in June for collaboration and development of future LNG opportunities, including entry in the project as an investor.
