Finnish state-owned energy firm Fortum will supply renewable power to Novatek’s medium-scale LNG plant in Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Vysotsk.
The move is a part of a memorandum of understanding the duo signed on Thursday.
As part of the deal, Novatek said in a statement it would purchase electricity produced by Fortum’s renewable power facilities in Russia, including for the Cryogas-Vysotsk LNG project.
Using green energy produced by wind farms owned by Fortum and its joint ventures at the company’s LNG plant in Vysotsk would enable Novatek to offer its customers a “more sustainable product” with a reduced Scope 2 carbon footprint, Novatek said.
“Our LNG carbon intensity is already among the lowest globally and we are working on further reducing our emissions,” Novatek’s chief executive and Russian billionaire Leonid Mikhelson, said.
“Purchasing green, renewable energy to power our facility represents one of the most promising mitigation solutions, and our cooperation with Fortum, the largest investor in Russian renewable energy projects, will allow us to contribute to climate change mitigation and increase the competitiveness of our LNG in international markets,” he said.
The Vysotsk facility has a capacity of 660 thousand tons of LNG per year. Its infrastructure includes a 42,000 cbm LNG storage tank but also an offloading berth designed to handle carriers with a capacity of up to 30,000 cbm.
Moreover, the plant mainly sends LNG to the countries of the Baltic Sea Region, including Finland, Sweden, Lithuania and Estonia.
Novatek operates the facility with a 51 percent share while Gazprombank holds the rest.