30 September 2010
Novatek advances in the Arctic
Having demonstrated the viability of tanker exports to the Pacific around Russia's Arctic coast, Novatek should reap the rewards at the Yamal LNG project, writes NJ Watson
IT WAS not Novatek's second-quarter financial results that pushed its shares to record highs in August, but the company's, and Russia's, first oil tanker to sail the frozen Arctic route to the Pacific Ocean. On 17 August, Russia's largest independent gas producer sent a consignment of gas condensate from the port of Murmansk, in Russia's extreme northwest, to the Asia-Pacific region across the Arctic Ocean's Northern Sea Route (formerly known as the Northeast Passage). On 6 September, the consignment, for China National Offshore Oil Company, arrived at the Chinese port of Ningbo. The 22-day journey was about "half the time required by the traditional shipping route through the Suez Canal",
Also in this section
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
