LNG

Gazprom Neft, the Russian oil and gas company and refiner, said it was looking for more opportunities in the LNG maritime fuel market as it awaits the delivery of the first Russian LNG bunkering vessel currently under construction in Singapore.

Gazprom Neft, the refining and logistics arm of Russian natural gas giant Gazprom, said the installation of tanks and other cryogenic equipment had now been completed on the nation’s first LNG bunkering vessel, scheduled to begin operations in 2021.

“This high-tech vessel will be providing environmentally-friendly NGV-fuel transportation and bunkering services for clients at major ports throughout the Baltic Sea area, including St Petersburg, Ust-Luga, Primorsk and elsewhere,” said the company.

Gazprom Neft’s bunkering vessel, which is currently being constructed at the Keppel Offshore and Marine shipyard in Singapore, will be the first ship in the Russian Federation able to undertake ship-to-ship LNG fuelling operations.

The Russian project is benefiting from Keppel’s strong track record in ice-class vessel construction and experience in handling cryogenic equipment. Keppel has so far delivered 11 ice-class vessels.

Gazprom Neft will begin LNG bunkering for likely first customers Rosmorport, the Russian state operator of ferries and service vessels, as well as energy shipping fleet and owner Sovcomflot for its 11 LNG-fuelled Aframax crude tankers on order.

The Arc4 ice-class Gazprom Neft vessel is 100 metres in length, and 19 metres wide and with 5,800 cubic metres of capacity. The average time for refuelling client vessels is likely to be around eight hours.

Gazprom Neft said construction work has already involved the installation of two cargo tanks, each with a capacity of 2,900 cubic metres and manufactured using a nickel-iron-based alloy.

It added that special reinforcing props attached to the hull structure in the cargo holds had to be used to install the tanks.

The LNG bunkering vessel has also been fitted with pumps and piping for loading and discharging LNG, and a fuel-tank cooling system.

In line with planned scheduling, the company said the next stage in building the LNG bunkering vessel was the installation of the cargo deck, while pipe-fitting and the installation of cargo-handling equipment is next on the agenda.

“The best international technologies, both in shipbuilding and in LNG storage and transportation, are being used on Russia’s first LNG bunkering project,” said Alexei Medvedev, Director General of Gazprom Neft-Marine Bunkering.

“Seventy percent of key construction works are now complete. The ship’s hull has been assembled, and energy facilities have been installed, as have fuel tanks,” added Medvedev.