PARIS, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- France's leading energy company Total announced on Thursday that it had agreed with Russia's Novatek and their Chinese partner China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) a final investment decision on "a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) development" project on the Gydan Peninsula in the Russian Arctic.

The Arctic LNG 2 will have a production capacity of 19.8 million metric tons per year, and its first exports are expected in 2023, and the second and third train will start up by 2024 and 2026, the French group said in a press release.

The LNG would be delivered to international markets by a fleet of ice-class LNG carriers using the Northern Sea Route and a trans-shipment terminal in Kamchatka for cargoes to Asia, and one close to Murmansk for European cargoes, it added.

Total, the world's second largest private LNG player, owns 10 percent of interest in the project. Taking into account its 19.4 percent stake in Novatek, its overall share is 21.6 percent.

"Arctic LNG 2 will leverage the success of the Yamal LNG project and will deliver competitive LNG to the markets in four years' time," said Patrick Pouyanne, Total's chairman and CEO.

"Arctic LNG 2 adds to our growing portfolio of competitive LNG developments based on giant low-cost resources primarily intended for the fast-growing Asian markets," he added.