Novatek Eyes Western Gas Field Partners

摘要

French Total and Royal Dutch Shell have been tipped as front-runners to partner Novatek, Russia's top independent gas producer, in developing the massive Yuzhno-Tambeiskoye (South Tambei) gas field on the Yamal Peninsula in Russia's Arctic. Novatek wants to develop the 1.3 trillion cubic meter field as a way of keeping itself ahead of its rivals in the increasingly competitive Russian gas market. In May, it spent $650 million buying 51% of Yamal LNG, which holds the exploration and production license to South Tambei. The sellers were firms close to Novatek's key shareholder, Gennady Timchenko, the co-founder of trader Gunvor, the biggest exporter of Russian crude oil and refined products.