Page 12 - AsiaElec Week 27 2022

AsiaElec GAS GENERATION AsiaElec

Russia mulls rubles-

for-LNG scheme

ASIA RUSSIA’S Gazprom is considering expanding special accounts in Gazprombank. The buyers
its rubles-for-gas scheme for pipeline sales to must transfer US dollar and euro-denominated
Europe to LNG as well, Interfax reported on July payments to one account, where Gazprombank
4, although the Kremlin has said no decision on moves them into a ruble-denominated account,
the matter has been taken yet. and sends them to Gazprom.
Kirill Polous, a deputy department head at The majority of Gazprom’s customers in
Gazprom, was quoted as saying by Interfax that Europe complied with the decree, and those that
Gazprom had made the proposal, citing foreign refused, including buyers in Bulgaria, Denmark,
exchange competition between pipeline gas sold Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland,
in rubles and LNG that is sold in US dollars. had their supply cut off.
“Currently no decisions have been taken Asked by Reuters this week, buyers of Russian
in this regard and there are not any prepared LNG in Japan and Korea confirmed that they
orders,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had not yet received a request from Gazprom
told reporters. for payment in rubles. The two countries have
Asked whether an LNG-for-rubles scheme supported Western sanctions against Russia and
might cover all LNG from Russia, which comes condemned its invasion of Ukraine.
mainly from Gazprom’s Sakhalin-2 project and By requiring buyers to make payments into
the Novatek-led Yamal LNG plant, Peskov redi- one Russian bank and not into accounts at Euro-
rected questions to Gazprom. pean banks, Russia is effectively preventing
At the end of March Russian President Western countries from appropriating funds in
Vladimir Putin issued a decree requiring all buy- order to deprive the Kremlin from financing for
ers of pipeline gas in “unfriendly countries” that its war, and for potential use in reconstructing
have supported sanctions against Russia to set up Ukraine.™

Russia installs inner containment

dome at Rooppur NPP

RUSSIA’S ASE has completed the installation of lower part of the dome with a diameter of 42.8
BANGLADESH the metal structures of the inner containment metres and a weight of 195 tonnes was installed
(VZO) dome in the reactor building of unit a week earlier. The assembly and installation of
2 at the Rooppur NPP under construction in the VZO dome is carried out by specialists from
Bangladesh. Trest RosSEM (part of the Engineering Division
Installing the upper part of the dome weigh- of Rosatom). The lifting was carried out using
ing 194 tonnes and with a diameter of 35.7 a Liebherr LR11350 crane (capacity of 1,350
metres brought the height of the structure to tonnes) and took four hours. Both parts of the
60.5 metres. dome had to be installed in the design position
“Because last year we carried out similar work with a tolerance of no more than 10 mm.
at the first unit, this time the pre-assembly of the In May, ASE said it had begun work on the
dome took 56 days less – 151 days,” said Alexei pre-assembly of the outer containment dome at
Deriy, vice president of ASE and director of the Unit 1 at the site.
project for the construction of Rooppur NPP. The Rooppur plant is being built by Rosatom
“As soon as both parts of the airborne zone on the eastern bank of the River Ganges in Bang-
are welded together, the concreting of the dome ladesh’s Pabna district about 160 km north-west
will start.” of the capital city of Dhaka. It aims to have 2.4
The work was carried out in two stages. The GW of capacity at its two VVER-1200 reactors.™

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 27 06•July•2022