EU companies put the equipment of Putin's friend "Novatek" for half a billion euro - media
This project, one of the largest shareholders of which is billionaire Gennady Timchenko, received equipment worth 580 million euros since the imposition of sanctions in May 2022 by the end of January 2024. About it writes the Russian edition of The Moscow Times. The EU banned the supply of equipment for the production of liquefied natural gas in May 2022, and at the end of 2023 the United States also imposed direct sanctions against the Arctic LNG 2 project.
However, according to Russian Customs Statistics, in January 2024, equipment worth € 24 million was imported from EU countries, and in 2023 this volume amounted to more than 220 million euros. Italian companies are the largest suppliers of the project for the project, which is total exceeding EUR 112 million, followed by French, German, Dutch and Spanish suppliers. The Arctic LNG 2 project is estimated at $ 25 billion, it is focused on production of 19.
8 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year. According to Financial Times, the project is already close to launch and plans to start export in 2024. Despite the cessation of a number of foreign companies in Russia through sanctions, the supply of equipment for the Arctic LNG 2 project is ongoing. For example, German Siemens ceased operations in Russia in March 2022, but continued to supply equipment for this project until September 2023.
Bloomberg estimates, the main shareholders of the project, including Leonid Michaelson and Gennady Timchenko, suffered significant financial losses during the war in Ukraine, but continue to invest in projects related to the oil and gas industry, in particular in Arctic LNG 2. The media has repeatedly noted that Gennady Timchenko is a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In particular, Timchenko's lawyer stated that the connections of entrepreneur Gennady Timchenko with Russian President Vladimir Putin do not mean that he "is an ally" Putin in the war in Ukraine. "Even given that Timchenko has known Mr. Putin for a long time, the statement that he is his trustee is what we deny, since such statements contain a kind of accusation," the lawyer said, confirming Timchenko's connection with Putin. .
The above-mentioned company "Novatek" belongs to the fuel complex, which on the night of January 21 was damaged as a result of attack of shock drones in the framework of special operation of the Security Service of Ukraine in Ust-Luz of Leningrad region of Russia. According to Reuters, Novatek fuel complex in Ust-Luz is a key link in energy infrastructure, ensuring the processing of gas condensate and production of petroleum products for export to Asia.