Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday the country needed to identify the resource base for about a third of its planned annual production of 100 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year.

“The strategic objective and future for our gas exports is the development of LNG, which in the medium-term should reach at least 100 million tonnes per year,” Novak told a meeting of government and industry officials.

Russia currently produces around 33 million tonnes of LNG annually.

Novak said current projects under development – major sites in Ust-Luga and the Arctic LNG-2 initiative – will add another 33 million tonnes to Russia’s annual production.

“It is necessary to find an additional resource base for projects accounting for another 34 million tonnes,” Novak said.

The Russian government has already cut its LNG annual output target to 80-120 million tonnes by 2035 from 140 million tonnes after the withdrawal of Westerns firms from Russia and a ban barring Moscow from importing equipment needed for LNG production.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Oksana Kobzeva; editing by Jason Neely)