LNG specialist Gazpromneft Marine Bunker has delivered the first LNG fuel for bunkering operations at the port of Arkhangelsk as part of its agreement with port operator FSUE Rosmorport.
The delivery the first of a regular LNG supply deal between the two firms that will see about 15 thousand tons of LNG delivered over the next three years.
A total of 2,600 tonnes of LNG fuel was delivered by icebreaker to the remote port on the Northern Dvina River. The LNG bunker station is 50 kilometres from the Dvina Bay on the White Sea.
LNG delivered by Northern Sea Route
The fuelling operation marked one of the first major LNG bunker deliveries transported via the Northern Sea Route. This route runs along the Russian Arctic coast and until recent years has been largely impassable for most of the year due to thick sea ice but is increasingly accessible as temperatures in the Arctic rise.
"Efficient service and uninterrupted supply of marine fuels is one of the basic conditions for the development of the Northern Sea Route,” Andrei Vasilyev, director general of Gazpromneft Marine Bunker, said.
The vessel, Kapitan Dranitsin, accompanied transport vessels carrying materials for the construction of onshore facilities for the world's first floating nuclear power plant in the nearby town of Pevek.
Gazprom expands LNG investments
Gazpromneft Marine Bunker is a subsidiary of Russian oil and gas firm Gazprom and focuses on operation and supply of the firm’s LNG assets and networks.
Last month Gazprom and Russian oil producer Rosneft signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) conduct studies into the possible development of energy resources in Iran. These are reported to include two oil fields and joint LNG projects.
Gazprom is also in discussion with Japanese engineering firms Mitsui and Mitsubishi on the implementation of a Baltic LNG project in Russia’s Leningrad region.
“We have expanded the geography of our cooperation in the sphere of the liquefied natural gas. We are discussing the possibility of cooperation in construction of the Baltic LNG plant,” Alexey Miller, Gazprom chairman, said.
