Italy stops funding for $21bn Arctic LNG 2 project

Rome: Joining its western allies who are imposing strict sanctions on Russia, Italy has seized funding for the $21 billion Arctic LNG 2 project.

The Arctic LNG 2 project is led by privately-owned Russian gas producer Novatek, and it is one among those many projects that lost foreign backing after Russia invaded Ukraine.

It was few weeks back that Italian state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti CDP and the Russian arm of Italy’s biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo agreed to finance the Arctic LNG 2 project. The loan for the project had not yet been dispersed.

However, sources close to the matter said that the agreement to finance the project is still intact.

The Arctic LNG 2 project has been shrouded with controversies since its announcement, as the European Parliament had claimed that the project is not compliant with climate targets.