Russia's Novatek Plans to Speed Up LNG Reloading After U.S. Criticism

Leonid Mikhelson, the head of Russia's gas producer Novatek, said on Tuesday the company will need to speed up construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) reloading facilities after Washington slammed Norway for helping it to tranship gas.

Allowing ship-to-ship transfers in Norwegian waters from Yamal in Arctic Russia, one of the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, undercuts Europe's energy diversification efforts, the U.S. State Department said last month.

Mikhelson didn't mention the United States directly when he told reporters that Norway faced pressure from other countries due to ship-to-ship transfer of Yamal LNG.

He added that the company was aiming to launch an LNG reloading facility in the Murmansk region in North West Russia in 2022. 

(Reuters, Reporting by Katya Golubkova; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)