Page 7 - FSUOGM Week 24 2019

FSUOGM PIPELINES & TRANSPORT FSUOGM
Novatek gets regulatory nod to build Arctic LNG-2
RUSSIA
RUSSIA’S largest private gas producer Novatek has secured regulatory clearance to build the Arctic LNG-2 terminal on the Gydan Peninsula.
State design agency Glavgosexpertiza has reported approving Novatek’s construction pro- posal for the plant, which will be sited on the shore of the Ob Bay.
During the project’s initial phase, the Rus- sian government will oversee the development of navigation channels and support infrastruc- ture for the terminal. is work will be nanced by the federal budget, under a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin earlier this year. Novatek will then fund the construction of the terminal and other facilities.
Following the successful completion of the 16.5mn tonne per year Yamal LNG project in late 2017, Novatek has set out to expand annual LNG output in the Russian Arctic to 70mn tonnes by 2030.
Arctic LNG-2 will consist of three 6.6mn tonnes per year (tpy) liquefaction trains, the rst of which is due on stream in 2023. It will process
gas from the Utrenneye eld, assessed to con- tain almost 2tn cubic metres of gas and 105mn tonnes of liquid hydrocarbons.
Novatek nalised the sale of a 20% stake in the venture to Chinese oil and gas companies CNPC and CNOOC earlier this month, having already brought on board France’s Total as an investor with a 10% interest. e Russian com- pany aims to reach a nal investment decision (FID) in the third quarter of this year.
In addition to Arctic LNG-2, Novatek is building a 0.9mn tpy fourth train at Yamal LNG, designed to showcase its proprietary Arctic Cas- cade liquefaction technology. It also intends to employ Arctic Cascade at the 4.8mn tpy Obsk LNG plant, slated for commissioning in 2022.
While Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG-2 rely heavily on foreign technology and equipment, Novatek is looking to use as much domestic con- tent as possible at Obsk LNG. CEO Leonid Mik- helson told reporters on June 7 that the company was unlikely to invite partners to take part in the project, unlike at its other LNG ventures.™
Gazprom in talks for mid-term deal on Turkmen gas
TURKMENISTAN
RUSSIAN state-run gas producer Gazprom is negotiating a possible medium-term deal for natural gas purchases from Turkmenistan, Reuters has reported, citing a senior Gazprom o cial on June 18. e currently ongoing short- term deal with Turkmenistan will expire by the end of this month.
Gazprom was in talks to sign a ve-year con- tract to buy Turkmen gas, Russian news agency Interfax reported on May 16, citing Russian Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky. e o cial did not mention the volume of gas under discussion. Russia resumed importing natu- ral gas from Turkmenistan in April following a three-year stoppage. e size of the imports out- lined at the time stood at 1.155 bn cubic metres, accounting for supplies over approximately three months.
When Gazprom suspended Turkmen gas purchases in 2016, it was already only importing around 4bn cubic metres (cm) of gas per year,
compared to Turkmenistan’s annual gas exports to China which currently stand at 40bn cubic metres. To prove signi cant to the ailing Turk- men economy, Russia would have to resume gas imports to pre-2015 levels when it imported 10bn cm per annum.
Should the imports prove to be of a sizable volume, they could turn out to be something of a breakthrough for the remote country’s long-embattled economy. Eco- nomic turmoil in the tightly controlled nation of 5.7mn last year led to reports of passport-controlled bread rationing and caused the regime led by President Gurban- guly Berdymukhammedov to scrap a quar- ter-century-long practice of providing free natural gas, electricity, and water to citizens in order to save money.
e imports appear to have been resumed under an existing 25-year contract between Gaz- prom and state-run Turkmengaz. ™
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