Economics
Russia Wins in Arctic After U.S. Fails to Kill Giant Gas Project
- Sanctions created ‘deadlock’ for Yamal LNG, says Total
- Novatek plans new projects to challenge Qatar for scale
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Building the $27 billion Yamal liquefied natural gas project meant shipping more than 5 million tons of materials to construct a forest of concrete and steel 600 kilometers north of the Arctic circle, where temperatures can drop to -50 degrees celsius and the sun disappears for two months straight.
Yet those challenges weren’t as tough as the U.S. sanctions imposed in 2014, forcing a complete refinancing just as construction was about to start. Jacques de Boisseson, head of the Moscow office of French energy giant Total SA, which has a 20 percent stake in Yamal LNG, said there were "various moments" when he thought the project may never happen.