LNG Ice-Breaker

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A project in northern Russia has succeeded in producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the Arctic for the first time. The production took place in the Yamal Peninsula located in the northernmost region of Siberia. The gas will be transported by the world's first ice-breaking LNG carrier, which was produced by a South Korean company.

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This is the Yamal Peninsula at 71 degrees north latitude. Russia's largest liquefied natural gas production facility was built in the area where darkness lasts all day. The Yamal project aims to produce 16.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas on average annually. The severe frigid weather in the Yamal Peninsula, with the mercury reaching as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius, is justright for LNG production.

[Soundbite] (Deputy Chief of Yamal LNG Project) : "A lower temperature makes it easier to liquefy natural gas, lowering costs by ten percent and increasing production."

LNG was produced in the Arctic for the first time, as the first-phase production line was completed after more than three years.

[Soundbite] Vladimir Putin (Russian President) : "We are now confronted with a crucial task of developing an Arctic sea route."

The first shipment of the gas will be transported by an ice-breaking LNG carrier, which was produced by a South Korean company for the first time in the world. The vessel is capable of sailing its way through glaciers, which are as thick as two meters. It can transport 170,000 cubic meters of LNG, which is enough to supply the whole of South Korea for two days. Russia is planning to use the Arctic as a basis for a strategy to expand LNG exports, eyeing the surging demand for the resource in Asia.

[Soundbite] Leonid Mikhelson (Novatek CEO) : "The Asian LNG market is predicted to grow 73 percent by 2030."

Fourteen more South Korean-made ice breaking LNG carriers will be delivered to spearhead efforts to develop a new Arctic sea route.