SIMIC

 PAO NOVATEK announced yesterday that the Arc7 ice-class LNG tanker ‘Christophe de Margerie’ of Sovcomflot successfully transited the Eastbound ice-covered part of the Northern Sea Route (‘NSR’) and reached the Bering Strait in only 12 days. The voyage across the NSR to the Bering Strait was 2,563 nautical miles long.

The voyage took place before the traditional start of the summer navigation season in average ice conditions, with the maximum ice thickness on the route reaching 1.3 meters. Eastbound transportation of LNG along the NSR is not normally performed in May as this represents one of the most difficult months for navigation.

The ‘Christophe de Margerie’ left the port of Sabetta on 18 May 2020, passed the Ob Bay and a part of the Kara Sea without ice-breaker assistance and then met with Atomflot’s nuclear icebreaker ‘Yamal’ (part of State Corporation ROSATOM), which escorted the tanker with ice navigation on the Еastern part of the NSR. The tanker will deliver an LNG cargo produced at Yamal LNG to China.

‘This unique tanker voyage is the result of NOVATEK’s detailed logistics solutions, exceptional ice performance of our Arctic LNG tanker fleet and the coordinated work of the entire team. We are grateful to the crews of the ‘Christophe de Margerie’ LNG tanker and the ‘Yamal’ nuclear icebreaker, who both demonstrated high professionalism in harsh Arctic conditions, representing the best traditions of the Russian school of navigation,’ noted Leonid Mikhelson, NOVATEK’s Chairman of the Management Board. ‘We are actively working to expand the eastbound navigation season for the NSR and looking forward to further development of State support for this trade route by increasing icebreaking capabilities as well as full-scale navigation and hydrographic assistance for shipping. This support allows us to significantly contribute to the annual cargo turnover along the Northern Sea Route by implementing our large-scale LNG projects to produce up to 70 million tons by 2030’.

PAO NOVATEK is the largest independent natural gas producer in Russia, and in 2017, entered the global LNG market by successfully launching the Yamal LNG project. Founded in 1994, the Company is engaged in the exploration, production, processing and marketing of natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons. Upstream activities of the Company’s subsidiaries and joint ventures are concentrated mainly in the prolific Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region, which is the world’s largest natural gas producing area and accounts for approximately 80% of Russia’s natural gas production and approximately 15% of the world’s gas production. NOVATEK is a public joint stock company established under the laws of the Russian Federation. The Company’s shares are listed in Russia on Moscow Exchange (MOEX) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE) under the ticker symbol «NVTK».