NO SEES USA

REUTERS. Novatek sees no impact of U.S. sanctions on a co-owner on the progress of the Yamal LNG project, the chief executive of the second-largest Russian gas producer said on Wednesday.

Leonid Mikhelson, chief executive and co-owner of Novatek, also said the company's gas production will rise by 7 percent this year from last year's 62 billion cubic metres.

"I do not see any potential impact on Yamal LNG," Mikhelson told media, when asked if he sees the sanctions hurting the progress of the project.

The independent gas producer is part-owned by billionaire Gennady Timchenko, who has been sanctioned as an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin over Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Novatek has been developing the Yamal LNG project, together with partners Total and China's CNPC. The first production unit, with annual capacity of 5.5 million tonnes, is due to be launched in 2017.