Russia took a step closer to becoming the world’s largest exporter of shipped gas with the start-up a $27bn (£20bn) project in the Arctic circle.

The liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, located by Russia’s remote Obe River in the far north, began production on Tuesday and will export its first cargo of super-cooled liquid gas by the end of the week.

The Yamal LNG project propels Novatek, its lead developer, from a domestic Russian gas supplier to a major player in the booming global market for LNG with potential exports of 16.5 million metric tons of gas every year.

By using specially built ice-breaking tankers to navigate the Arctic waters Novatek expects to halve the time needed to ship gas to China, which has led global gas demand for the last twenty years.

Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil and Chevron are also vying for a slice of the LNG market which is picking up steam as countries move away from burning coal for power.