In the context of global liquefied natural gas (LNG) companies, Russia’s number two gas producer (after state-owned Gazprom), Novatek, has always been seen as being unusually reliable in terms of delivering its projects on time and on budget. This applied equally to the first three liquefaction and purification facilities (trains) of its US$27 billion flagship Arctic LNG project in the Yamal Peninsula (Yamal LNG) despite the full weight of U.S. sanctions being imposed on Russia in 2014 as a result of its annexation of Crimea. The announcement last week from Novatek that it has delayed the launch of the fourth train of the Yamal LNG project, then, raises serious questions about the company’s ambitious plans for the project and for similar projects being undertaken or considered by Russia in the Arctic . These questions go the heart of the Kremlin’s commitment to Arctic exploration, as the previously rigorous implementation […]