Arctic gas terminal begins Ice Silk Road

While translating Russia's rich energy reserves into a badly needed boost for its economy, the Yamal liquefied natural gas project, which aims to tap natural gas reserves totaling more than 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent, also promises benefits for China.

As the majority stakeholder with 50.1 percent, Russia's Novatek is undoubtedly the biggest winner from the project, and Russian President Vladimir Putin was right to call Yamal's inauguration a "significant moment" for the Russian economy, energy industries, polar exploitation, and his country's Northern Sea Route on Friday.

But the facility is also a good investment for the French company Total, which has a 20 percent stake, and for China as its National Petroleum Corporation and the Silk Road Fund hold a combined 29.9 percent stake. The Arctic gas terminal is expected to supply China with 4 million tons of LNG a year, which will help to considerably mitigate the country's short supply of LNG, which has been prominent in the north of China recently, and facilitate the country's shift to clean energy sources.