Russia‘s Novatek said Thursday the debt service guarantees for its Yamal LNG development were formally removed after the firm completed all the conditions stipulated by the project’s external bank financing.
Novatek’s chief executive and Russian billionaire Leonid Mikhelson said this marks another significant milestone on Yamal LNG.
“The removal of the guarantees will allow Novatek to attract external financing for its new projects on more favorable terms, and equally important, removes the restrictions on our dividend payout ratio,” Mikhelson said.
Yamal LNG is building a 17.4 mtpa LNG export plant comprising of three trains of 5.5 mtpa, each.
Additionally, the project is constructing a smaller LNG train of 900,000 tons per year capacity.
The first LNG train started production in the fourth quarter of 2017. Novatek launched trains 2 and 3 in July 2018 and November 2018, respectively.
Yamal LNG shareholders include Novatek (50.1%), France’s Total (20%), China’s CNPC (20%), and the Silk Road Fund (9.9%).