Extreme cold conditions in Asia have led to a quantum jump in demand for natural gas which Novatek intends to fulfil.
High North News reports about an unprecedented step being planned by Russian gas giant Novatek to transport LNG to Asia – in winter and via the NSR or Northern Sea Route. Otherwise, typically we would see LNG ships going to Asia only in the summer months when seawaters would largely be free of ice.
The difference now is that Asia is going through bitterly cold conditions – spurting natural gas demand. Alongside, there’s extreme congestion at the Panama Canal. These two factors have led to a scenario where LNG spot prices in northern Asia have increased dramatically, especially in Japan. Novatek is looking to cash in on this situation particularly since these Asian spot prices are much more than in Europe, its traditional market.
In pursuit of its plans, last week saw Novatek send out two Arc7 carriers on a trial voyage to ascertain the safety of the journey. Based on the outcome, Novatek could commence with its LNG shipments via the NSR in February. For this, the company plans to utilize dedicated icebreakers from Atomflot, a specialist in this realm.
