Hydrocarbon Processing - February 2022 - GP-9

REGIONAL FOCUS
Russia ready to control 20%
of global LNG market by 2030
E. GERDEN, Contributing Writer
Russia plans to increase its annual
LNG production to 140 MMtpy by 2035.
This increase in production-part of
Russia's plans to diversify natural gas supplies-will
enable the country to increase
its global LNG production market share
to 20%. The implementation of these
plans will be part of the existing long-term
program for the development of LNG
production in Russia.
The program also includes additional
production of LNG equipment and machinery
within Russia, the expansion of
a resource base for LNG projects and the
provision of economic incentives for exporters.
The program eases the procedure
of issuance of licenses for the development
of gas fields, which serve as the resource
base for LNG facilities in the country.
The primary resource base for LNG
production in Russia will be the Yamal
and Gydan fields-which were discovered
by Rosneft-and the Tambey group
of fields discovered by Gazprom.
In 2020, Russia produced 30.5 MMt of
LNG, which is an increase of 3.5% from
the previous year. Out of the LNG produced,
22 MMt were exported. According
to Russia's LNG export plan, both
production and LNG exports should significantly
increase through the rest of the
decade. Forecasts show that Russia's LNG
exports could reach $150 B by 2030. The
increase in LNG exports will be due to
new LNG facilities under development
primarily in the country's northern region.
The construction of these plants are
being led by Novatek and Gazprom.
Gazprom has announced plans to build
at least two medium-tonnage LNG plants by
2025. These projects are the $2-B-$2.3-B,
1.5-MMtpy Vladivostok LNG terminal to
be built in the Vladivostok region (Russia's
Far East) and the $500-MM-$2-B,
500,000-tpy-1.5-MMtpy Chernomorsky
LNG terminal on the Black Sea. The Chernomorsky
LNG terminal will supply LNG
to countries on the Black Sea and Mediterranean
Sea, as well as to enterprises of the
South and North Caucasian Federal Districts
in Russia.
At present, Gazprom's LNG portfolio
includes only one operating LNG plant-
Sakhalin-2. The 9.6-MMtpy Sakhalin-2
facility receives feed gas from the PiltunAstokhskoye
and Lunskoye fields. The
LNG plant plans to add a third LNG liquefaction
train, which will increase Sakhalin-2's
total production by 5.4 MMtpy.
Liquefaction technologies, equipment
and logistics. Gazprom needs
foreign gas liquefaction technologies for
its LNG facilities since it does not have
its own LNG technology. To combat this,
the Russian government plans to invest
more than $1.7 B on new technologies for
the domestic LNG sector, as well as deepening
localization of LNG equipment
within the country. As part of these plans,
Russia plans to establish a production sector
to focus on producing at least 18 of the
most critical types of LNG equipment.
In addition to new equipment, the
country will invest in new logistics and
transportation infrastructure that will be
crucial for Russian LNG exports to major
foreign demand markets. According to
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin,
the existing state strategy involves the
establishment of specialized logistics centers
(hubs) in the Russian Arctic region.
These hubs will focus on the transshipment,
storage and trade of Russian LNG,
as well as future deliveries to demand
centers in Europe and Asia. This investment
will help Russia compete against
major LNG exporting nations such as
Australia, the U.S. and Qatar.
Russia's primary focus is
increasing demand for natural gas in the
Asia-Pacific region. Russia plans to supply
the region with LNG produced from
its Arctic plants. One of the key players in
FIG. 1. The Arctic LNG 2 plant lies on the
Gulf of Ob across from the Yamal LNG export
terminal. Source: TotalEnergies.
this region is the privately-owned gas producer
Novatek.
Novatek is actively developing its Yamal
cluster, which includes its flagship
20-MMtpy Yamal LNG plant. At the
time of this publication, nearly 80% of
Yamal LNG output has been supplied to
Europe. However, to increase natural gas
supplies to Asia, Novatek is developing
a transshipment hub on the Kamchatka
Peninsula. Scheduled to be completed in
2022-2023, the hub will enable Novatek
to store and send LNG via ice breaking
marine vessels-Russia's Zvezda shipyard
plans to build up to 15 icebreaking tankers
for Russian LNG deliveries-to demand
centers in Asia. The company is also developing
the nearly 20-MMtpy Arctic LNG 2
project. Located on the Gulf of Ob across
from the Yamal LNG facility (FIG. 1), the
three-train LNG plant is scheduled to begin
operations in 2024-2025. GP
satisfying
EUGENE GERDEN is an
international contributing writer
specializing in the global oil
refining and gas industry. He has
been published in a number of
prominent industry publications.
Gas Processing & LNG | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 9
Hydrocarbon Processing - February 2022

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