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Moscow approves Murmansk transhipment
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RUSSIAN Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has approved Novatek’s plans for a transhipment facility in Murmansk, according to a report from the country’s TASS agency. e plant would have up to 20mn tonnes per year (tpy) of capacity, the report continued.
e Russian gas company is making plans for two such terminals, one at Murmansk and another in Kamchatka. e idea would be that this would allow it to move LNG from its Arctic projects more easily, via the Northern Sea Route (NSR).
LNG will be moved from Yamal LNG – and, assuming it is approved, Arctic LNG 2 – to the transhipment facilities on ice-breaking vessels. e gas will then be transferred to conventional LNG carriers (LNGCs).
e Murmansk terminal may cost $1.1bn, while Kamchatka has been estimated at $1.6bn. In 2018, when the plan was rst set out, VTB analysts said this might save $0.2 per mmBtu in transportation costs.
Expansion plans
In related news, Novatek has announced the
closing of the sale of stakes in Arctic LNG 2 to Asian customers, readying the project for a final investment decision (FID). Buying in were China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), CNOOC Ltd and the Japan Arctic LNG consortium, which includes Mitsui and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp. (JOGMEC), the Russian gas company said on July 22.
e sale and purchase agreement (SPA) was signed by the Japanese companies on June 29. is also provided for LNG o ake of 2mn tpy. e Chinese companies signed deals on June 7.
Novatek now has 60%, while the other part- ners – also including Total – each have 10%. Arc- tic LNG 2 involves three trains on gravity-based structure (GBS) platforms. Each will be capable of producing 6.6mn tpy.
The company’s chairman, Leonid Mik- helson, said these sales had put in place the structure needed for progress. “ e target level of Novatek’s participation has been reached, allowing us to make the [FID] and optimally use the company’s cash ow to nance our new projects”.™
Qatargas delivers Revithoussa supplies
PERfoRmanCE
QATARGAS has delivered a first cargo to Greece’s Revithoussa LNG terminal, on July 20. e facility was expanded in late 2018 and has taken some US cargoes, for Greek and Bulgarian consumption.
e Qatari company said the delivery on the Al Gharrafa Q-Flex vessel was the rst it had provided since the expansion. It was loaded on July 3. e vessel has capacity of 216,000 cubic metres.
Qatargas said this had come under a mul- ti-port delivery deal with France’s Engie utility. e next cargo from Qatargas for Engie will go to the Cartagena terminal, in Spain, later this month.
“This significant delivery is aligned with Qatargas’ strategy to continue growing the ever increasing number of terminals that our Q-Flex and Q-Max vessels can deliver into,” said Qatar- gas’ CEO, Khalid bin Khalifa Al ani.
Engie’s head of LNG, Gordon Waters, said the co-operation with Qatargas would “further build upon our long-standing relationship whilst supplying our Greek and Spanish counterparties withcompetitivegasandLNG”.
Greece is reported to have received two US LNG cargoes since carrying out the expansion project, while Bulgaria received a shipment from
the Corpus Christi LNG plant in May, Platts has reported. Another US delivery, via Revithoussa, for Bulgaria is expected in the third quarter.
e Revithoussa terminal was constructed in 1999 and is operated by Greece’s National Natu- ral Gas System Operator (DESFA). e expan- sion work increased storage capacity to 225,000 cubic metres, also allowing it to accept larger ves- sels – up to Q-Flex. e terminal can export gas to Bulgaria via the Sidirokastro link, following a 2016 agreement.
Qatar is working to balance its deliveries to existing clients – recently announcing its 3,000th cargo to Japan – with emerging sources of demand. In June, it announced the delivery of the largest ever single cargo – of 207,000 cubic metres – to Turkey’s Marmara terminal. is facility underwent expansion work in 2018.
Greece is working on further import plans, with its Gastrade utility issuing a tender for a oating storage and regasi cation unit (FSRU) at Alexandroupolis. is unit will be stationed in the race Sea, with a pipeline connecting it to the National Natural Gas Transmission Sys- tem (NNGTS). Bulgaria has also expressed an interest in using this unit, although it is unclear whether there is su cient demand for both this FSRU and Revithoussa. ™
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