Arctic LNG 2 adds Arc7 to its shadow fleet

Having found a steady buyer in China for its sanctioned gas, the Russian project is positioned for nearly year-round operations, yet its 11-vessel ‘shadow fleet’ is still insufficient to achieve anywhere near capacity utilisation.

Arctic LNG 2 is Russia’s third major LNG project, following the 10mt/yr Sakhalin 2 and 17.4mt/yr Yamal LNG, commissioned in 2009 and 2017, respectively. Originally, the Novatek-led development was to have three 6.6mt/yr liquefaction trains, creating a combined capacity of 19.8mt/yr, making it one of the largest single LNG projects in the world. However, Arctic LNG 2 was directly targeted by sanctions following the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, which included blocking the import of liquefaction technology and ice-breaking LNG tankers, and the heavy discouragement of any and all potential customers for the produced gas—including the project’s own joint venture partners