Yamal LNG gets final approval, but costs rise

摘要

The Yamal LNG consortium led by Rus-sian independent Novatek reached a final investment decision on 18 Decem-ber, but revealed that the project’s expected costs have risen. The project is expected to cost $26.9bn, or $6.9bn more than the pre-liminary estimate. The shareholders have already spent $2.6bn. The announcement came shortly after Russia’s LNG export liberalisation law came into force on 1 December (WPA, 29 November, p10). The law ena-bles the energy ministry to grant export rights to independent firms that received production licences before 1 January 2013. State-controlled firms have been granted the right to export LNG from offshore projects.