Arctic LNG sea fleet: Carrying gas from the cold

At present, 20 of the world’s approximately 500 in-service LNG carriers are used, or planned for use, to carry natural gas produced by the world’s northernmost LNG liquefaction projects. These projects include Equinor’s operating Hammerfest LNG plant on Melkøya Island in northern Norway; Novatek’s recently commissioned Yamal LNG terminal in Sabetta in Russia’s northeast Yamal Peninsula; and Novatek’s under-construction Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia’s Gydan Peninsula. At present, the Hammerfest facility is Europe’s largest liquefaction plant. It sources gas from the Snøhvit (Snow White) field in the Barents Sea (FIG. 1). The arctic gas is sent ashore through a 143-km-long pipeline to Melkøy