Novatek, JBIC Ink MoU

Novatek and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) signed a MoU for strategic partnership at the Eastern Economic Forum, the Russian firm said September 5.

“The MoU confirms the parties’ intentions to cooperate in the implementation of Novatek’s LNG projects, including financing and investment,” the company stated.

Novatek chairman Leonid Mikhelson called the MoU an important step for developing a strategic partnership with Japanese companies.

“Signing the MoU with JBIC is an important step in developing our strategic partnership with Japanese companies. Our access to high quality resources allows us to implement competitive LNG projects, which are attractive to foreign investors and beneficial to our respective countries,” Mikhelson said.

The Yamal LNG project involves a liquefaction plant with annual capacity of 16.5mn mt/yr based on the feedstock resources of the South-Tambeiskoe field. According to estimates, the proven and probable reserves are at 926bn m³. The project is at the active construction stage.

In March, Novatek closed the deal to sell a 9.9% equity stake in the Yamal LNG project to China’s Silk Road Fund (SRF) for $1.2bn. Following the completion of the deal, the shareholder structure Yamal LNG is: Novatek (50.1%), Total (20%), CNPC (20%) and SRF (9.9%). In December 2015, as part of the transaction, Novatek received a 15-year loan from SRF for the purpose of financing of the project. US and EU sanctions imposed on Russia have cut off access to long-term debt from the west.

Shardul Sharma