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April 26, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 11
Russia’s LNG runner-up Novatek sold another 20% in Arctic LNG-2 project
Russia’s second-largest gas producer and emerg- ing major liquefied natural gas (LNG) player No- vatek sold another 20% in its second LNG project Arctic LNG-2 to Chinese CNOOC and CNODC, with 10% stakes sold to each, the company said on April 25 without disclosing the value of the deal.
Arctic LNG 2 is Novatek’s second LNG project with capacity of 19.8mn tonnes. It is scheduled for commissioning in 2022-2023. The Russian company has already closed the deal to sell
a 10% stake in the project to France’s Total.
Novatek welcomes the inclusion of Chinese part- ners, as China is one of the main sales markets of the company’s LNG, the head and one of the main shareholders of Novatek Leonid Mikhelson com- mented. Apart from reported negotiations for 30% stake sale with Saudi Aramco, companies from
Russia’s Novatek to pay record-high dividend for 2018
The board of Russia’s second-largest natural
gas producer and liquefied natural gas (LNG) runner-up Novatek will pay a record high dividend of over 34% of normalized IFRS net profit of RUB233bn ($3.6bn) in 2018, making a total payout of RUB79bn ($1.2bn).
This makes a record-high dividend payout, almost double that of RUB45.4bn paid in 2017, RUB42.2bn in 2016, and RUB41bn in 2015, and will further boost the investment case of Novatek.
Novatek has become an investors’ darling. As bne
Japan and South Korea were also interested in acquiring a share in the plant.
Earlier this month Novatek also signed deals with trader Vitol and Spanish energy major Repsol. Both Vitol and Repsol closed a 15-year supplies deal for 1mn tonnes of LNG from Arctic LNG 2 and is supposed to pass through Novatek's two new connection terminals in the Murmansk re- gion for its Western delivery route and Kamchatka peninsula for its Eastern destinations.
Novatek launched its first major LNG project Yamal in 2017 despite Western sanctions against its shareholder and influential Kremlin insider and stoligarch Gennady Timchenko. The company has also adopted an ambitious strategy for LNG growth through 2030 and is now lining up a tanker transportation strategy to back it up.
IntelliNews recently reported in an article “King of the castle” the share price of the heavyweight state-owned blue chip stocks have stagnated, but those of the independent energy companies Novatek, and privately owned oil major Lukoil, have doubled in value in the last year.
Once the financing for the second Novatek’s LNG project Arctic-2 is secured, the company also promises to revise the dividend policy that now set the payout at minimum 30% of IFRS net profit. Analysts surveyed by Vedomosti daily expect the payout to gradually increase to 50%.