Lights Dim at Giant Russian LNG Construction Facility as Energy Sanctions Bite
- Satellite observations indicate lowest activity since 2019
- Idling of construction facility stymies Russia’s LNG ambitions
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Activity appears to have slumped at Russia’s only construction yard for liquefied natural gas modules, another sign of how Western sanctions are thwarting the country’s ambition to become a top player in this key energy market.
Novatek PJSC’s Belokamenka facility on the Barents Sea, dubbed “the plant to make LNG plants,” looks to have been largely mothballed. In late October and the first days of November, night-time light intensity at the plant was the lowest since 2019, according to satellite observations compiled and analyzed by the Earth Observation Group at the Payne Institute for Public Policy in Colorado.