Page 11 - FSUOGM Week 07 2021

FSUOGM POLICY FSUOGM

Germany, Russia to work together

in green hydrogen

GERMANY GERMANY and Russia are in talks on co-op- Blue hydrogen is also expected to be very clean,
erating in green hydrogen, German Economy as CO2 emissions from its production can be
The pair are looking to Minister Peter Altmaier has said, signalling the captured and stored.
deepen energy sector pair are seeking deepen their energy ties further. Russia is Germany’s biggest gas supplier,
ties further. Russia could work with Germany in pro- positioning it as a potential provider of blue
ducing and transporting green hydrogen that hydrogen supplies in the future as well. How-
Germany wants to develop using large-scale ever, Russia also has considerable untapped
wind and solar-powered electrolysers, in order renewable energy potential that could be
to provide carbon-free fuel for industry, energy exploited to develop green hydrogen. Moscow
and transport, the minister said in a webcast on drafted its own five-year hydrogen plan last
February 16. year, under which it plans to gradually replace
Russian Industry Minister Denis Manturov natural gas in Russia’s export pipelines with the
added that Russia was ready to prioritise invest- fuel.
ments in this field. “Russia can offer giant land potential as a
“I am convinced that this intention will be basis to build up solar and wind power, and huge
of interest to German and Russian companies water resources for hydropower,” Stephan Weil,
active in that sector,” he said. the prime minister of Germany’s Lower Saxony
Germany is aiming to become carbon neu- state, commented.
tral by 2050, and sees hydrogen as an important Russia is near to completing its second gas
solution for decarbonising certain industries. In pipeline to Germany, Nord Stream 2. Nord
a strategy published last summer, though, Ber- Stream 2 and its sister project Nord Stream 1 are
lin said it would only provide funding support capable of carrying up to 70% hydrogen and 30%
for developing green hydrogen and not blue natural gas, whereas older Russian export pipe-
hydrogen, which is derived from natural gas. lines can only handle 20% hydrogen. ™
PROJECTS & COMPANIES

Rosneft to launch Rospan project within days

RUSSIA RUSSIA’S Rosneft plans to launch production assets Rosneft is developing to expand its domes-
from one of its flagship domestic gas projects in tic gas sales business.
Rosneft wants to raise the next few days, the state oil firm’s vice-pres- Another is the Kharampurskoye field, also in
Rospan's output to as ident for domestic services, Eric Liron, said on Yamalo-Nenets. Rosmeft formed a 51:49 joint
high as 19 bcm per February 12. venture with long-serving partner BP in 2018 to
year. Rosneft subsidiary Rospan has rights to develop the Cenomanian layer of Kharampur-
the East-Urengoysky, Novo-Urengoysky and skoye and the neighbouring Festivalnoye field. The
Resursny areas in the Yamalo-Nenets region project is expected to flow 10 bcm per year of gas.
of Western Siberia. Production reached nearly Construction of a gas processing unit at
6.7bn cubic metres in 2019, but Rosneft plans Kharampurskoye reached 40% completion at the
to raise it to as high as 19 bcm per year under end of last year, Rosneft said in its fourth-quar-
an expansion project. But that project has faced ter results. BP and Rosneft have not disclosed a
repeated delays. timeframe for ramping up output from the field.
“Rospan has completed assembly of the key In January last year, the pair hired Turkish firm
equipment for the first stage of production and Tekfen to build a 90-km pipeline linking Khar-
preparation of gas and condensate,” Liron told ampurskoye with Russia’s national grid. That
investors. “Start-up and adjustment works are at work is due to be completed in May 2021.
an advanced stage, and the first commercial gas Rosneft has been striving for years to build
from the project should start to arrive in a few up a gas business to rival that of its competitor
days.” Novatek, but development challenges and a lack
The launch of the second phase is on track for of access to export markets have frustrated its
the third quarter of 2021, according to Rosneft. ambitions. As recently as 2017, the company
Rosneft acquired Rospan as part of its was targeting annual gas production of 100 bcm
$55bn takeover of Anglo-Russian joint venture by 2020. Instead, it extracted a mere 62.8 bcm,
TNK-BP in 2013. It is among several key gas down 6.2% year on year. ™

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