LNG

Russian natural gas company Gazprom and the German engineering and industrial gases company Linde have signed accords on the LNG and processing project at Ust-Luga west of St. Petersburg and on the Amur Gas Processing Plant in the Russian Far East.

The signings came at a meeting in St. Petersburg between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Wolfgang Reitzle, Board Chairman at Linde, as well as other executives from both companies.

The meeting covered several issues, including the project for the creation of the Gas Processing Complex in Ust-Luga.

Kirill Seleznev, Director General of RusKhimAlyans, and Juergen Nowicki, Chief Executive of Linde Engineering, signed an agreement of intent in the presence of Miller and Reitzle.

The document outlines the main terms and conditions of a prospective Engineering, Procurement and Site Services (EPSS) contract for Linde.

Gazprom and RusGazDobycha, a special purposes company securing gas supplies for Russia’s chemicals industry, are expecting the various facilities at Ust-Luga to require the processing of 45 billion cubic metres of natural gas per annum.

RusKhimAlyans, a 50-50 joint venture between Gazprom and RusGazDobycha, have already signed 20-year commercial contracts for supplies of feed gas and sales gas as well as ethane fraction for chemicals.

Gazprom and RusGazDobycha are implementing the venture and RusKhimAlyans will be the operator. It is the anchor project of the major gas processing and chemical cluster that is being established in the region.

“The complex will have the largest capacity in Russia in terms of gas processing and will be the largest in northwest Europe in terms of LNG production at 13 million tonnes per annum,” said Gazprom.

“In addition to LNG, its commercial products will include ethane fraction, liquefied petroleum gases and pentane-hexane fraction,” it added.

The parties also reviewed current issues of cooperation, including Gazprom’s Amur Gas Processing Plant (GPP) construction.

“Linde’s equipment for cryogenic gas separation and for helium production is employed at the enterprise,” said Gazprom.

“The GPP’s first two production Trains are being prepared for commissioning at the moment,” the Russian company added.

Russian natural gas company Novatek, the nation’s largest liquefied natural gas developer in the Arctic region, has also been building up the customer base of its small-scale Cryogas-Vysotsk plant on the Baltic Coast while making progress on assembling a shipping fleet for the Arctic LNG II project under construction on the Gydan Peninsula of northern Siberia.

Gaztransport and Technigaz, the French designer of liquefied natural gas maritime and onshore storage systems, has received a second order from the Zvezda Shipyard in the Russian Far East for the tank designs of 10 ARC7 ice-breaking LNG carriers.

GTT said each vessel would offer a capacity of 172,600 cubic metres capacity and be fitted with the Mark III membrane containment system.

GTT technologies have been adapted for heavy environmental conditions, allowing LNC carriers to operate and navigate safely in ice-covered waters.

“These ARC7 vessels will contribute to the projects of the Russian LNG producer Novatek,” said GTT.

The 10 carriers are scheduled to be delivered between the second half of 2024 and the end of 2025.

“We are very pleased to work with Zvezda and look forward to continuing this partnership through this second order for 10 ARC7 ice-breaking LNG carriers,” said Philippe Berterottière, Chairman and Chief Executive of GTT.

The Zvezda complex is located at Bolshoi Kamen on the coast of the Sea of Japan and about 12 miles northeast of the city of Vladivostok.

Zvezda signed a technical assistance and license agreement with GTT in June 2020.

The new generation of carriers built by Zvezda will serve the new plant of Russian natural gas company Novatek and partners from France, China and Japan.

GTT said these unique LNG carriers are intended to transport cargoes from the project being developed on the Gydan Peninsula in northern Siberia.

Zvezda is owned by a consortium of Russian energy companies, including Rosneftegaz, Rosneft and the financial affiliate of Gazprom, Gazprombank.

The Russian shipbuilder obtained its GTT licence after a qualification process that began in September 2017, including the construction of a Mark III technology mock-up.

The shipyard plans to specialise in the construction of large-capacity vessels, ice-class ships, special vessels and marine equipment or offshore platforms.

Construction of LNG carriers is one of the priority directions of the production programme at the shipyard.

The first vessel for Arctic LNG II will be constructed at the Zvezda shipyard for Russian shipping line Sovcomflot and be financed by the Russian VEB Group, a development bank.
The first carrier and its sister ships will be capable of traversing the Northern Sea Route.

The newbuilds will be designed for year-round operations in the ice conditions of the Kara Sea and the Gulf of Ob and will be able to sail independently through ice over two metres thick.

Sovcomflot LNG carriers currently deliver cargoes for Yamal plant of Russian natural gas company Novatek and for Gazprom’s Sakhalin plant in the Russian Far East.

Sovcomflot, the Russian shipping line, has organized financing for two new liquefied natural gas carriers to increase its LNG fleet to 16 vessels as Russia expands its presence in the sector with more projects.