Mikhelson said that the gas pipeline to Murmansk will be built by Novatek

The gas pipeline for the Murmansk LNG plant will be built “Novatek“, said Leonid Mikhelson, chairman of the board and co-owner of the oil and gas company, writes Interfax.

The decision was made by the country’s leadership following several discussions. Mikhelson added that it was decided to increase the capacity of the future pipe from 30 billion to 40 billion cubic meters. m, taking into account the tasks of not only supplying the plant, but also gasification of the regions. The pipeline will also supply the regions where the highway passes.

In the summer, State Duma deputies introduced a bill allowing foreign supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) without reference to specific fields. In particular, export access to the Murmansk LNG project can be formalized in this way.

On October 9, Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov at a meeting in the State Duma statedthat Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered to accelerate the liberalization of LNG exports and include the Murmansk LNG project in the strategic documents of the industry.

In June Mikhelson toldthat the company plans to use its own resource base for a new LNG production project with a capacity of 20.4 million tons per year in the Murmansk region and does not intend to purchase gas for liquefaction from Gazprom. At Gazprom itself earlier spoke against the liberalization of LNG, since, according to the company, this could contribute to a gas shortage on the Russian market.