Herbert Smith Freehills advises China's CNODC on stake in Arctic LNG project / 史密夫斐尔律师事务所协助中石油参股北极LNG项目

Leading global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has advised China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Company (CNODC), a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), on its investment in a 10% stake in Novatek's Arctic LNG 2 project.  

Located offshore from northwest Siberia, the Arctic LNG 2 project includes the construction of three LNG trains with a planned capacity of 19.8 mmtpa. Production is expected to begin in 2022-23. 

The project will be Novatek's second LNG production facility in the Arctic following the Yamal LNG plant, in which CNPC currently holds a 20% shareholder interest. 

"This transaction is the latest chapter in the success story of Russian LNG accessing global markets and the opening of the Northern Sea Route for year-round commercial LNG deliveries to Asia," said partner Danila Logofet. "This success was made possible by the relentless work of Novatek and strategic support and financing from its Chinese partners." 

"The firm has a solid track record in these types of investments, having advised both the Silk Road Fund and CNPC on their investments in the Yamal LNG project," said Beijing Partner Monica Sun. "This project goes a long way in further strengthening Chinese-Russian cooperation in the energy sector."

"We are delighted to have assisted CNPC on this major transaction," said Hilary Lau, Asia head of energy. "Our depth of experience in this area combined with the scale of our energy team has enabled us to achieve a fantastic result for our clients."

Danila, Monica and Hilary led a team from the firm’s Moscow and China offices advising on the transaction and were assisted by counsel Evgeny Yuriev, senior associates James Zhang, Angelina Leushkina, Jie Li, Yida Xu and associates Elvira Vanieva, Yunfei Guo, Emilie Soust and Charles Wong.

Additional support was provided by partners Calvin Ho, Adelaide Luke, senior associates Oxana Koerner, Sergey Kolobov and Sergei Eremin, and associates Alexander Chuprunov, Yulia Turkina, Qiujie Tan and Yulia Turkina.

国际领先的史密夫斐尔律师事务所协助中国石油天然气勘探开发公司（CNODC，中国石油天然气集团有限公司的全资子公司）收购由诺瓦泰克公司（Novatek）牵头开发的北极2号LNG项目（Arctic LNG 2）的10%权益。

北极2号项目位于西伯利亚西北部近海。该项目包括三条LNG生产线的建设，计划年产量1980万吨，预计于2022-23年投产。

北极2号项目是诺瓦泰克公司继亚马尔LNG项目（ Yamal LNG）之后在北极开发的第2个LNG生产项目。中石油也持有亚马尔LNG项目 20%的股权。

合伙人Danila Logofet律师表示：“此次交易是俄罗斯LNG进入全球市场的新的里程碑，开启了LNG经由北海航线全年不间断输往亚洲的大门。这一成功得益于诺瓦泰克的不懈努力以及中方合作伙伴的战略支持和资金投入。”

合伙人孙晔律师表示：“史密夫斐尔在代表中国企业投资海外LNG开发项目方面有着极为丰富的经验；此前在亚马尔LNG项目中，我们也先后为中石油和丝路基金的投资提供了全程法律服务。北极2号项目对加强中俄在能源领域的合作将起到重大的推进作用。”

亚洲能源业务主管刘恺信律师表示：“我们非常高兴协助中石油完成此项重大交易。史密夫斐尔充分利用在LNG领域的丰富经验以及强大的能源业务专业团队，为客户交易取得理想的成果。”

Danila、孙晔律师和刘恺信律师共同领导本所莫斯科、香港、北京的跨国团队为此次交易提供法律服务。资深顾问Evgeny Yuriev、高级律师张嘉、Angelina Leushkina、李洁、许懿达及律师Elvira Vanieva、郭韵菲, Emilie Soust 和黄天朗为项目提供协助。

合伙人胡贵英, Adelaide Luke、高级律师Oxana Koerner、Sergey Kolobov、 Sergei Eremin，以及律师Alexander Chuprunov、Yulia Turkina、谭秋婕、Yulia Turkina提供支持。