Russia's Yamal LNG project loaded its first 170,000 cubic meter export cargo from its Arctic terminal, the Chinese state energy company CNPC said on Monday.
The company said the cargo is on the way to its next undisclosed destination.
The CNPC added that its second and third LNG production lines plan to be put into operation ahead of schedule.
"By then the project will reach 16.5 million tons of production capacity and Russia's LNG market share in the world will increase from 4 percent to 8 percent," it said.
The company also said that after the terminal is fully up and running, more than 4 million tons of LNG would be shipped to China each year.
The first of the project's development cost around $27 billion with CNPC holding a 20 percent stake in the project.
Russian Novatek holds the majority stake in the project at 50.1 percent, French Total owns 20 percent, while and the Silk Road Fund holds a 9.9 percent share.
The project has three liquefaction trains each with 5.5 million tons per year. The second and third trains will be commissioned in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Russian President Vladimir Putin inaugurated the terminal project on the Yamal Peninsula above the Arctic Circle on Dec. 8.
Yamal LNG’s production is sold under long-term contracts on Asian and European markets, predominantly under oil-index price formulas. LNG will be supplied to the markets all year round through an innovative shipping approach involving a fleet of purposely-designed ice-class LNG carriers that will travel the Northern Sea Route to Asia over the Bering Strait during the summer time.
(Anadolu Agency)
