Former Sistema head's company opens several cryogenic fueling stations in Russia's Rostov region - authorities

ROSTOV-ON-DON. Nov 2 (Interfax) - DBB Group, which is headed by former AFK Sistema president Andrey Dubovskov, launched several cryogenic fueling stations in the Rostov region in August 2024, the Rostov region's Industry and Energy Minister Andrey Savelyev told Interfax.

Start-up work is currently being carried out at the stations, he said.

"A low-tonnage natural gas liquefaction complex and cryogenic fuelling stations have been built as part of an agreement concluded with DBB LLC. The complex has been commissioned and is able to liquefy natural gas at a rate of 500 kg per hour," he said.

The complex will reach its planned capacity after a sufficient level of demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been determined, he said.

As reported, DBB Group finished building a low-tonnage gas liquefaction plant in the Rostov region in 2023. It has a capacity of 5,000 tonnes a year, which could increase to 70,000 tonnes a year.

"We have two agreements with the Rostov region. The first was signed at an exhibition in Yekaterinburg in 2022. It stipulated 180 million rubles in investment from us, which we have in fact carried out through the construction of this complex for liquefying natural gas, and also through building electric charging infrastructure," Dubovskov said.

The second agreement was signed in 2023 at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum. The investment in the construction of the second plant has not been specified. In addition, the group is planning to invest around 1.2 billion rubles in projects in the region up to 2028 inclusive.

Dubovskov's company has already built and operates a multi-fuel filling station in Shakhty in the Rostov region, as well as several automotive gas refueling compressor stations and electric charging stations in other regions of Russia.

DBB is a Russian group of companies engaged in the production, consumption, storage, and transmission of energy. It was founded in August 2022, with ownership shared between Dubovskov (51%), Alexander Bazvanov (22.05%), and Ivan Bukhonin (26.95%).