SACE Could Support Novatek's Giant Arctic LNG 2 Project

(Offshore Enginer, New York, 22 October 2021)Italy's biggest banking group Intesa Sanpaolo could help fund Novatek's Arctic LNG 2 project even as some European governments show lukewarm support for the giant Russian gas project. Antonio Fallico, chairman of group unit Banca Intesa Russia, told Reuters the bank had been invited to look at the financing deal by SACE, the state-owned Italian export credit agency. Novatek said in September they had credit lines open for a third of the total financing from Russian banks, adding Chinese and Japanese banks could provide the rest. The pressure on institutional investors from climate lobby groups to stop funding fossil fuel companies has intensified markedly in recent years. The $21 billion project, which received final investment approval in 2019, is expected to reach full capacity of almost 20 million tonnes of LNG per year in 2026.