Funding for the development of the North Sea Route in 2022 should be increased by RUB 4 billion, to be invested in the construction of the Utrenniy LNG terminal in the Arctic sea port of Sabetta. This is stated in the explanatory note appended to the draft federal budget of the Russian Federation for 2022–2024, the text of which was made available to TASS.

'Changes in the financial support parameters for the federal project 'Development of the North Sea Route' are due to an increase in budget allocations in 2022 in the amount of RUB 4,073.8 million in order to ensure the completion of the Utrenniy liquefied natural gas and stable gas condensate terminal in 2022 and a decrease in 2024 in the amount of RUB 10,510.4 million due to the reallocation of funds to the construction of the lead nuclear icebreaker of Project 10510 Leader,' the document reads.

It is explained that RUB 16.14 billion reserved when drafting the federal budget for 2024 will be allocated to the implementation of the federal project 'Development of the North Sea Route', as per decrees of the Russian government.

In November 2020, it was reported that the Utrenniy terminal under construction as part of the Arctic LNG-2 project was 69% ready.

Arctic LNG-2 is Novatek's second LNG project. The project involves the construction of three liquefied natural gas production lines with a capacity of 6.6 million tonnes per year each, as well as stable gas condensate up to 1.6 million tonnes per year. The resource base for the project is the Utrenneye field, located on the Gydan Peninsula in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District. The first line is planned to be launched in 2023, with the second and third lines to follow in 2024 and 2026.

The shipping route known as the North Sea Route is the backbone of maritime communication in the Russian Arctic. It runs along Russia's northern shores through the seas of the Arctic Ocean (Barents Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea, Chukchi Sea and Bering Sea). The NSR connects Russia's European and Far Eastern ports and the estuaries of navigable Siberian rivers, thus providing a unified transportation system. The route is 5,600 km long, counting from the Kara Strait to Provideniya Bay.