Novatek’s Yamal LNG fast-track wins plaudits
Once regarded as an unlikely addition to global liquefied natural gas capacity, the Yamal project is ready to roll and Novatek has even bigger plans
The decision by Novatek, Russia's largest independent gas producer, to accelerate the speed at which it expands its vast Yamal LNG project in northwestern Siberia has received a warm reception from market observers. Leonid Mikhelson, the company's chief executive, says the timeline for the completion of the $27bn project will arrive sooner than scheduled by fast-tracking the second and third stages. Previously, the company intended to launch three 5.5m-tonne liquefaction trains sequentially in 2017, 2018, and 2019, but it now plans to start the second train three months earlier than planned. The third train will come onstream six-to-nine months earlier while the first train may become operat
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
