Fake projects are what Leonid Mikhelson Novatek does, while budget funds are spent on dummy projects. The structure announced the construction of the Ob LNG gas pipeline in Sabetta. The implementation will take place according to the technology that was used during the construction of the Arctic LNG-2.
Earlier, the company announced that it would use the domestic technology “Arctic cascade”, which was used for the construction of the fourth line of the Yamal LNG pipeline. This technology did not live up to expectations, the launch of the line was delayed four times, and now the facility is experiencing constant interruptions. As a result, the company abandoned the use of the Arctic Cascade technology.
Previously, Novatek refused to enter into contracts with suppliers of equipment for the Ob LNG, which threatened to disrupt the implementation of the entire project. Moreover, the structure has placed responsibility for interruptions at Yamal LNG on equipment suppliers. It is very difficult to get to the bottom of the problem, since personnel changes have taken place in the structure of Novatek. In the winter of last year, Evgeny Kot, deputy chairman of the board of the company, who had worked in the structure for about two decades, was fired. They talked about his departure in advance, explaining the problems in the work of Yamal LNG.
The “Arctic Cascade” technology has previously been the pride of Novatek, since it is the brainchild of Russian manufacturers, which allows minimizing the risks from Western sanctions. As a result, it turned out that it had not been finalized to the indicators that would save the resource.
Parts for LNG were produced by different Russian companies, and when correlated into the final product, the parts turned out to be incompatible. The production of the heat exchanger was carried out by JSC Cryogenmash, and the ethane evaporators were manufactured by PJSC ZiO-Podolsk. As a result, calculations of heat and mass transfer processes were carried out by different structures.
Under the pretext of import substitution, a lot of budget funds were spent on technology. There is always money for this. Moreover, in case of failure, you can ask for more, under the pretext that the errors have been identified and now you can correct them. It is not yet clear which option for the further development of events Mikhelson will choose, but at least it pleases that improperly operating equipment was not put into operation.
Recently, Mikhelson announced that he was going to build a gas pipeline to Kamchatka, but at the same time he set the condition that he was ready to implement the project in exchange for expanding the resource base in Yamal. Thus, the oligarch plans to get a gas field and build a gas branch, hoping to receive money for the supply of blue fuel from the region. The businessman wants to receive additional funds, although he is already doing a profitable business in Kamchatka.
