ECAs back $9.5 billion financing for Russia's Arctic LNG 2
(Reuters, London, 18 September 2020) International lenders have lined up about $9.5 billion in financial support for a Russian Arctic liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, a document seen by Reuters showed, even as such projects come under greater scrutiny over climate concerns. The $21 billion project, which received final investment approval a year ago, is expected to be launched in 2023 and to reach its full capacity of almost 20 million tonnes per year in 2026. Among the lenders is France's Bpifrance, with an offer of $700 million in credit finance, the China Development Bank, expected to offer a facility worth $5 billion and Germany's Euler Hermes, with a covered facility of $300 million. Japan's JBIC is offering $2.5 billion, Italy's SACE plans to put $1 billion into the project, while an unnamed Russian bank is reportedly considering a $1.5-billion investment. While the energy industry touts natural gas as a cleaner alternative to coal or crude, it is a source of carbon emissions and critics say LNG projects are hard to reconcile with the transition to low-carbon economy envisaged in the Paris climate agreement and the European Union's Green Deal economic plan.