Novatek has called media reports that it is forming a shadow fleet for the Arctic LNG 2 project unreliable. The company did not specify which publications are in question. The FT, as well as analysts from BCS World of Investments and Finam, have recently written about Novatek’s involvement in forming a shadow fleet for Arctic LNG 2.

Novatek is not forming a shadow fleet for Arctic LNG 2, the company stated in an appeal to partners on its Telegram channel. It emphasizes that Novatek is one of the project participants, but its employees do not work for Arctic LNG 2. All activities of this project are managed exclusively by the management of Arctic LNG 2, the statement says.

"Assumptions and statements made in the media that the company is allegedly engaged in the formation of a shadow fleet, its management and shipments from the Arctic LNG 2 project are not true," Novatek assured, adding that the company intends to defend its interests in court. The natural gas producer made this statement "in connection with the increasing number of cases of publication in the media of false information that affects the activities and reputation of PJSC Novatek." The company did not specify which publications are in question.

OJSC Yamal LNG, in which Novatek owns a controlling stake, also issued an appeal to its partners. In it, the company called false reports that the gas carriers chartered by Yamal LNG are used, among other things, to ship products from Arctic LNG 2. "These statements are a gross error or a deliberate insinuation by the media and the so-called experts they employ," the statement said.

On September 5, the Financial Times wrote, among others, that Novatek was involved in the formation of a shadow fleet for Arctic LNG 2. According to the newspaper, Arctic LNG 2 was conceived as a “totemic project of the Kremlin” headed by Novatek. “Novatek’s revenue from the sale of hydrocarbons as of June increased by 15% year-on-year over three months, indicating a moderate increase in supply volumes. However, after the start of the “special operation”* in Ukraine, Novatek, like many other Russian companies, stopped publishing detailed data, which makes it difficult to determine what share of the revenue Arctic LNG 2 brought in,” the FT article said.

On September 6, BCS Express, citing analysts from BCS World of Investments, wrote that Novatek was using a so-called shadow fleet to deliver liquefied natural gas from the Arctic LNG 2 project to the market. “The creation of a shadow fleet was a way out of the current situation for Novatek,” the publication stated, which was dedicated to the inclusion of Gotik Shipping Co and Plio Energy Cargo Shipping Opc Private Limited in the US sanctions list. At the same time, Finam wrote that Novatek had assembled an impressive shadow fleet to ensure deliveries from the Arctic LNG 2 project, despite the sanctions. In May, Bloomberg also called Arctic LNG 2 a Novatek project.