The Chinese company Wison New Energies, which is responsible for the construction of the modules of the Arctic LNG-2 project, has announced its “indefinite” withdrawal from the Russian market , which is the first Chinese offshore shipyard to announce its withdrawal from the Russian market.
Wison stated that after careful and thorough evaluation, the Board of Directors has decided to discontinue all ongoing Russian projects and will immediately and indefinitely stop taking any new Russian business. Wison appreciated the good relations it has built with our Russian partners in the past and value the work they have done together. However, in view of the strategic future of the company, the company has to make this difficult decision.
At the same time, the company said that it has decided to sell the entire equity interest in Zhoushan Wison Offshore & Marine Limited. Wison or any entity of Wison will not have any ownership in the new Zhoushan shareholding.
The company added that “We are fully aware of the impact this decision may have on relevant partners and employees, and we will do our best to properly handle all follow-up matters and ensure a smooth transition. We will also actively seek new development opportunities to lay a solid foundation for the company’s long-term development.”
Wison Clean Energy’s withdrawal will affect Russian energy giant Novatek’s flagship LNG project in the Arctic, Arctic LNG 2, for which Wison Clean Energy is one of the module manufacturers. Last year, Novatek also said it planned to build a gas turbine power station for the Arctic LNG 2 project using equipments from Wison Clean Energy and Guanghan Combustion Engine.
The Arctic LNG 2 project is being built by Russian energy company Novatek, which awarded a $7.6 billion EPC contract for the Arctic LNG 2 project to France’s Technip in 2019, with a number of Chinese shipyards involved in building modules for the project.
Several Chinese shipyards are building modules for Technip, including Bomax, COSCO Shipping Heavy Industries, Penglai Jutal Offshore Engineering Heavy Industry (PJOE), Wison and Qingdao McDermott Wuchuan (QMW).
In this project, Wison Clean Energy has successively undertaken the construction and commissioning of three production lines with a total of about 150,000 tons of integrated pipeline corridor modules, including the design, procurement, construction, commissioning and shipment of 21 of these electrical booths. Among them, the construction of the pipeline corridor modules on the first production line commenced in December 2019 at Wison Clean Energy’s Zhoushan base, and the first shipment ceremony of the modules was held in August 2021, where two of the world’s largest LNG modules, which were the world’s largest single-unit LNG modules in terms of volume and weight at that time, will set sail at Xiushan Island in Daishan County, Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province.
It is worth noting that just last week PJOE was placed on the Specially Designated Nationals List (SN List) by the U.S. Department of the Treasury indicates that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), making it the first Chinese company to be sanctioned for its involvement in Russian projects. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, PJOE was targeted because of the shipyard’s “involvement in the manufacture and shipment of highly specialized LNG modules specifically designed for the Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia.”
