Official: Intesa in talks on financing Arctic LNG-2, Nord Stream-2

BRUSSELS, Mar 15 (PRIME) -- Italian banking group Intesa is close to discussing details of financing of the Arctic LNG-2 liquefied natural gas project (LNG) and is in talks about participation in Nord Stream-2, Antonio Fallico, chairman of the board of directors of the Russian unit of the bank, told PRIME on Friday.

Fallico said about Arctic LNG-2: “We liked the first project and we like the second one. We often meet with the colleagues and talk … We are not far away, we continue the negotiations, I cannot disclose the details.”

The Arctic LNG-2 U.S. $27 billion plant will be launched in 2022–2025 and the fields of the Gydan Peninsula in the north of West Siberia will become its resource base. The facility is to produce 19.8 million tonnes of LNG per year. Russian gas producer Novatek has 90% in the project and France’s Total acquired 10% on March 7.

Fallico said he hopes that gas pipeline Nord Stream-2 will not find itself under U.S. sanctions. “Our relations with Gazprom have made an about-turn. We have not discussed the possibility of a failure of this project. If a mistake is made and it is put on the black list, we will have to be realistic but I personally think that this project will be fulfilled.”

The European Commission put forward amendments to the E.U. gas directive in 2017, suggesting applying the E.U. third energy package to all pipelines that run through the E.U. territory to and from third countries. The bills require non-discriminatory regulation of tariffs and provision of access of third parties to gas pumping.

This means that the pipelines must have an operator independent of Russian gas giant Gazprom, and third parties must receive access to the capacities. However, only Gazprom can supply gas to the Russian end of the pipeline and is the only company with the right for exports.

The Nord Stream-2 project envisages construction of two lines of a natural gas pipeline with an annual capacity of up to 55 billion cubic meters, running from the Russian shore to Germany under the Baltic Sea. Russian gas giant Gazprom will implement the project together with Germany’s E.ON and BASF, Royal Dutch Shell, OMV, and France’s Engie.

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