Revitalized Russian Arctic LNG Operations Emerge from Winter Hibernation, Marked by Visible Gas Flaring at Dual Production Sites

By Malte Humpert (gCaptain) – It truly seems Russia has reignited operations at its Arctic LNG 2 facility, despite ongoing sanctions. Recent satellite images from the European sentinel 2 have shown flaring activity at both production lines, Train 1 and Train 2, along with the main flare nearby.

Flaring was first spotted on one of the production lines a few weeks back. Recently, there’s been a noticeable increase in activity at the main flare and even some flames emerging from Train 2, which had yet to be officially launched.

The Arctic LNG 2 project kicked off in August 2024 when the first shadow fleet LNG carrier, Pioneer, docked at Train 1. In just over two months, they managed to ship out eight cargoes; however, none found buyers due to worries about U.S.sanctions. Currently, around one million tonnes of LNG are stranded on various carriers and floating storage units across Europe and Asia. After more then six months adrift,losses from boil-off could be as high as 15-20 percent.

In October last year, Novatek PJSC—the project’s primary stakeholder—decided to temporarily halt operations as it struggled to sell its product in China amid returning winter sea ice conditions. Attempts to engage buyers in India or seek relief from EU and U.S. sanctions have not yielded results so far.

Recent satellite imagery shows flaring on March 30 and April 6 of this year; notably less activity was observed at Train 2 during that time frame (upper left circle). While Novatek has indicated that they don’t foresee meaningful changes regarding sanctions for this summer’s shipping season,they seem focused on fully commissioning Train 1 while gearing up for an initial launch of Train 2. Last summer saw only half-capacity operation for the first line.

Before winter closed off shipping routes in November last year,three heavy lift vessels delivered essential equipment—a generator set and substation—from China intended for powering up the second production line. This setup is now operational and appears linked to recent flaring activities indicating progress toward starting up train 2.

At utrenney terminal—officially known as Arctic LNG’s port—several vessels are actively maintaining a shipping channel into Ob Bay waters. Satellite data reveals that two icebreakers are working alongside tugs there; however, this doesn’t necessarily mean gas tankers will soon arrive at Arctic LNG 2’s docks. Throughout winter months past general cargo ships have frequented this port instead.

as it stands now there’s no sign of gas tankers heading towards Arctic LNG but should Western sanctions shift anytime soon; it looks like the plant is poised to jump back into action quickly!

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