Novatek intends to sell the remaining minority stake in its Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia to a foreign partner within the next seven weeks.

Novatek intends to sell a total of 40% of equity in Arctic LNG 2 to international partners so that shareholders may approve the final investment decision before the end of this year.

To date, a handful of companies have together taken stakes totaling 30%.

Both Novatek chairman Leonid Mikhelson and deputy chairman Mark Gyetvay said at different venues in the last five days that the Russian independent has its eyes trained on raising this to the target of 40% before the end of June.

An eventual project sanction is expected to unlock the flow of project financing from the Russian authorities, Chinese banks and shareholders themselves, as well as facilitate the signing of binding LNG offtake contracts with long-term buyers.

Novatek has not disclosed the names of companies that it is in talks to sell the remaining 10% stake in Arctic LNG 2.

However, last year the company signed memos of co-operation with Korea Gas Corporation and Oil, Gas & Metals National Corporation.

Earlier this year, the gas producer finalised the sale of the 10% stake in Arctic LNG 2 to French supermajor Total.

It also signed deals to sell two 10% shareholdings to China National Petroleum Corporation and China National Offshore Oil Corporation, thus bringing the total minority shareholding in the project to 30%.

However, industry analysts in Moscow pointed out that Novatek’s options to sell the remaining 10% interest are limited to Asia because of US and European sanctions against the company and its core shareholder, Russian businessman Gennady Timchenko.

Sanctions have restricted Novatek from obtaining inexpensive Western project financing, with a potential shareholder being required to arrange significant financing from its side, besides providing a long-term commitment to buy a share of production from Arctic LNG 2.

Novatek intends to bring the first train online before the end of 2022. A total of three trains with capacity of about 20 million tonnes per annum are planned to commercialise gas reserves of the Utrenneye, also known as Salmanovskoye field, on the Gydan Peninsula in West Siberia.

Total investments in the project are estimated in excess of $25 billion.

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Novatek sets target for Arctic LNG 2 stake sale