Page 17 - FSUOGM Week 39

FSUOGM PROJECTS & COMPANIES FSUOGM

Novatek freed of debt guarantees

at Yamal LNG

RUSSIA RUSSIAN gas exporter Novatek reported on December 2017 and now produces 17mn tonnes
September 24 that it had been relieved of debt per year (tpy) of LNG. Roughly 70% of its $27bn
The milestone will service guarantees at the Yamal LNG terminal, cost was paid for through external financing, pri-
enable Novatek after fulfilling all the conditions stipulated in the marily from Chinese and Russian lenders. The
to attract cheaper project’s external financing. remainder was covered by Novatek and its equity
financing for its The “milestone,” as Novatek CEO Leonid partners in the project, France’s Total and China’s
projects. Mikhelson described it, should enable Novatek CNPC and Silk Road Fund.
to attract cheaper financing for its new projects Novatek has been freed of its debt guaran-
and increase dividend payouts from Yamal tees at Yamal LNG at a time when it is working
LNG. to finalise external financing for its next LNG
“This news should have been fully antici- export project, Arctic LNG-2. The $21bn devel-
pated by the market, as management had stated opment is reportedly set to get $9.5bn in funding
on recent conference calls that the project had from international banks, and additional fund-
met all the criteria for the guarantee’s removal,” ing from domestic lenders.
analysts at BCS Global Markets (BCS GM) wrote Arctic LNG-2 due online in 2023 and its out-
in a research note. “Nonetheless, the formal step put is scheduled to ramp up to almost 20mn tpy
should still be at least modestly positive for the within three years. Novatek’s equity partners
stock.” there are Total, China’s CNPC and CNOOC, and
Yamal LNG was brought on stream in Japan’s Mitsui and JOGMEC. ™

MOL to build $13mn bitumen

plant in Tatarstan

HUNGARY HUNGARIAN oil and gas company MOL and winter months. The successful testing of
will build a $13mn bitumen plant in Tatarstan the new asphalt pavement has already been
Preparations are with its local partner, Russian Tatarstan-based made on the roads of Hungary, Slovakia and
underway for the regional oil major Tatneft. Slovenia. Various parameters of the modified
investment. Preparations for the investment are under- asphalt will be tested on Tatarstan roads within
way and MOL is in talks with the government five years.
on how much state grant money will support The investment is part of MOL's 2030 strat-
the project, Minister of Foreign Affairs and egy, in which the CEE oil giant seeks to expand
Trade Peter Szijjarto said on September 28 after the company’s value chain beyond its core pro-
a meeting with Tatarstan's Deputy Prime Minis- duction adding new product lines and entering
ter Albert Karimov in Budapest. new markets. With $1.5bn investments annually
Tatneft has begun testing of the new modi- until 2030 MOL is to become the leading petro-
fied road bitumen pavement developed by MOL chemicals company in the CEE region. ™
on the Almetyevsk - Chelny route track in the
Almetyevsk district. The bitumen contains 15%
of the crushed rubber, which ensures application
of the eco-friendly technology based on the utili-
sation of recycled tyre manufacturing waste.
The modified bitumen, which components
include specifically designed compounding
materials and additives is characterised by high
fracture toughness, elasticity and friction coeffi-
cients at low temperatures, as well as the reduced
road pavement noisiness level.
It is resistant to climate change: the high-
est and lowest temperatures typical for the
weather conditions in Tatarstan in the summer

Week 39 30•September•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P17