Russia’s No. 2 gas producer Novatek would be interested in a tie-up with Qatargas, the world’s biggest LNG exporter, as it seeks to expand its gas trading business, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said. Novatek plans to start its own liquefied natural gas production next year at its plant in Russia’s Yamal Peninsula, which it is building with France Total and China’s CNPC and Silk Road Fund, Trade Arabia reported. “Our company Novatek is interested in ... marketing of this type of fuel (LNG) jointly with a Qatari company,” Novak told reporters at a joint briefing with Qatari Energy Minister Mohammed Al-Sada. The largest non-state gas producer in Russia, it is barred from exporting natural gas to Europe by pipelines, as state-owned Gazprom has the exclusive rights to ship gas abroad. Novatek has long been seeking ways to export Russian gas. Novatek’s Yamal LNG project will have a total capacity of 16.5 million tons of LNG per year, split over three production lines of 5.5 million tons capacity each.
