Russia’s state run shipping company Sovcomflot has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Novatek, a major independent natural gas producer in Russia, to form a partnership for the transport of hydrocarbons including LNG and gas condensate produced at Yamal LNG, Arctic LNG 2 and other Arctic projects developed by Novatek.
“Our unique partnership with Sovcomflot will optimize our LNG transport model through the Arctic zone by efficiently and effectively using ice-class tankers,” said Leonid Mikhelson, chairman of Novatek.
“To implement our long-term development strategy to produce more than 55 million tons of LNG by 2030, we need to establish an efficient Northern Sea Route shipping model. Combining our efforts with Sovcomflot, one of the global leaders in navigation in harsh ice conditions, will allow us to achieve maximum efficiency in managing our transportation costs,” Mikhelson added.
Sovcomflot runs a large fleet of over 100 vessels, including nine LNG carriers and four LPG carriers.
In May, Novatek created transportation subsidiary Maritime Arctic Transport to build up its Arctic navigation competencies and ensure centralised management of its Arctic fleet.
