LNG

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said the government was taking additional measure to increase liquefied natural gas cargo deliveries to the Asia-Pacific by the Northern Sea Route to offset the loss of pipeline gas customers in the European Union.

Chinese liquefied natural gas imports in July 2022 to its network of 22 regasification terminals declined significantly on a year-on-year basis amid an economic slowdown while shipments from Russia have edged higher since the Ukraine invasion.

Novatek, the operator of the Yamal LNG plant and developer of the Arctic LNG II project, said the first three stages of international certification have been obtained for long-term carbon-dioxide underground storage sites on the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas in northern Siberia.

Shell, the global oil and gas major, said it was ready to consider future participation in a new liquefied natural gas project in Russia as the company sees growth potential in supplying more natural gas to satisfy increasing demand in Asia.

Wärtsilä, the Finland-based equipment provider for maritime and energy markets, said it would supply the Inert Gas Generator systems, as well as navigation system technology for six newbuild LNG carriers under construction to serve the Arctic LNG II export project in northern Siberia.

The orders were placed with Wärtsilä by the South Korean shipyard, Daewoo Shipbuilding Marine Engineering (DSME).

There are options for an additional two or possibly four vessels.

One division of the Finnish company, Wärtsilä Gas Solutions, will deliver the Inert Gas Systems used for safe operations on LNG and other gas vessels as well as oil tankers.

Another part of the DSME contract is with the Wärtsilä Voyage division to provide display system and workstations for the Wärtsilä Navi-Sailor Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS), Navi-Radar, the Navi-Conning navigation information display system, a Bridge Alert Management System (BAMS) and the Wärtsilä Navi-Planner for advanced route planning.

The scope also includes IRIDIUM satellite communication systems.

“These vessels will operate in severe climatic conditions, and it is essential that all onboard systems are capable of safe and reliable performance under all conditions,” said Jaechul Ha, an executive at Wärtsilä Gas Solutions.

“We have worked closely with both DSME and Sovcomflot (SCF) in the past, and are pleased to continue these relationships,” added Ha.

The company said that all the navigational systems to be installed on the Russian-flagged carriers come integration-ready with Wärtsilä Voyage’s flagship Fleet Operations Solution.

The 172,500 cubic metres capacity vessels will have a high ice-class rating for year-round operations along the challenging Northern Sea Route, delivering cargoes eastwards to Asia from the liquefaction plant in northern Siberia.

Wärtsilä said the delivery of its equipment to the South Korean yard was scheduled to begin in September 2021.

The company’s Wärtsilä Marine Power division had earlier in 2021 announced an order for 46 dual-fuel engines for the same six LNG carriers being built for Arctic LNG.

China's liquefied natural gas imports increased by 25 percent in October, though were still short of the monthly shipments received by the world’s No. 1 LNG importer Japan as the Japanese are failing to reach nuclear re-start targets as a replacement power generation fuel.

The Guangdong province of southern China, where the nation’s first liquefied natural gas imports arrived in 2006, is planning to boost gas-fired power capacity and LNG supply needs.