Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil exporter, is positioned to take TotalEnergies’ place in Arctic LNG 2 after the French supermajor signalled it would walk away from the project due to Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The acquisition, if confirmed, could help revive Novatek’s $21.3 billion West Siberian liquefied natural gas development, which has been stalling since European investors and contractors decided to pull out.
Project watchers believe Arctic LNG 2 is facing significant delays, even with new partners in place, due to the need to reconfigure the complex relationship between investors, contractors and technology providers.