Page 7 - FSUOGM Week 04 2021

FSUOGM PIPELINES & TRANSPORT FSUOGM

Fortuna starts Nord Stream 2

work off Denmark

DENMARK RUSSIA’S Fortuna pipe-laying vessel has begun incomplete.
working on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in Dan- Russia responded by deploying its own
Caption Caption ish waters, despite the US having just slapped pipe-layers last year. Construction in German
Caption Caption sanctions on the ship. waters was resumed in December, although most
Caption Caption Initial work is underway in the Danish of the remaining 160 km of pipes left to lay are
Caption Caption exclusive economic zone and is being “per- off Denmark.
formed in line with relevant permits” ahead of The US is due to expand its sanctions to com-
actual pipe-laying, the Gazprom-owned Nord panies involving a number of other services to
Stream 2 operating company told reporters on Nord Stream 2 in the near future, following the
January 24. passing of legislation by Congress. Companies
Washington is tightening its sanctions regime are taking the threat very seriously. Swiss insurer
against Nord Stream 2 to target any compa- Zurich Insurance Group has reportedly left the
nies involved in its construction. The US State project, as has Norway-based quality assurance
Department imposed sanctions on Fortuna and firm DNV GL and Danish engineering firm
its assumed Russia-based owner KVT-Rus on Ramboll.
January 20. It remains to be seen whether these compa-
Nord Stream 2’s development ground to a nies can be replaced with Russian ones or oth-
halt in December 2019 after the US imposed its ers willing to incur sanctions in time to avoid a
first sanctions on the project, initially targeting further delay at Nord Stream 2. The project is
only the owners of pipe-layers. The move led to currently on track to be largely completed by the
the withdrawal of Swiss contractor Allseas, leav- end of June, more than a year and a half later than
ing just 5% of Nord Stream’2 offshore section under the original schedule. ™

Yamal LNG's fourth train

starts production

RUSSIA RUSSIA’S Novatek has brought on stream the on the sanctioning of Obsk LNG.
fourth long-delayed production train at its Yamal LNG’s first three 5.5mn tpy trains
The train uses Novatek's Yamal LNG venture in the Russian Arctic, its were launched between late 2017 and late 2018.
self-developed Arctic CFO said on January 26. Its fourth had been scheduled to start up at the
Cascade technology. The 0.9mn tonne per year (tpy) mini-train end of 2019, but has been repeatedly delayed.
is now flowing its first quantities of LNG, CFO Russian press reported in early 2020 that some
Mark Gyetvay said at the online European Gas of its processing pipelines had been designed
Conference on January 26. Its first full cargo will incorrectly.
be loaded onto a tanker in a few months, he said. The coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis and
“The fourth line already produces LNG,” the resulting slump in gas prices last year were
he said. “We are testing and launching it and I also likely contributing factors. Its volumes
think that the first loading will be made in the are set to be sold on the spot market, where
first quarter.” prices reached historic lows in the wake of the
The train uses Novatek’s self-developed pandemic.
Arctic Cascade liquefaction technology, which Gyetvay also made the case for gas as a relia-
the company plans to adapt for larger trains in ble form of energy, pointing to recent brownouts
northern Russia in the future. Novatek hopes to and blackouts in California, where renewables
take a final investment decision (FID) this year have been rolled out rapidly. He also said predic-
on its 5mn tpy Obsk terminal, which will also tions of gas losing its share of the energy mix were
employ the technology. But it has insisted that greatly exaggerated, and that the LNG industry
progress at the Yamal LNG train has no bearing was working on curbing its emissions.™

Week 04 27•January•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P7