Russia's largest independent gas producer Novatek has secured the first deal to underpin its plan to build an electrodriven liquefied natural gas plant near the Barents Sea port of Murmansk, however the company has not indicated the expected timeline to resolve other key issues.

Novatek said it had signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Russian state-controlled electricity utility Rosseti to secure connections between the Kola nuclear Power station and existing regional electricity hubs with the future liquefaction facility.