Mitsubishi signs agreement to build methanol plant on Sakhalin
VLADIVOSTOK. Sept 1 (Interfax) - Mitsubishi Corporation (Rus) CEO Minoru Furusawa and the head of the government of Sakhalin Region, Vera Scherbina signed an agreement on Thursday on the construction of a plant in the region to produce methanol from natural gas sourced from Sakhalin fields.
"We are now faced with the issue of thinking about processing natural gas directly on the territory of Sakhalin. For us, today's agreement is a platform with which we can go to the Russian government for support of the project," Sakhalin Governor Oleg Kozhemyako said after the signing, which took place at the second Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok.
The planned scale of production has not been discussed yet, he said. "These are questions for the investor," Kozhemyako said, referring to Mitsubishi.
The Sakhalin government "will talk to Gazprom after September 18 so that there is a possibility of building a gas distribution station," the governor said. The Russian gas giant is willing "to build this gas distribution station together with us," he said while speaking to Mitsubishi representatives.
The feedstock for the Mitsubishi plant is expected to be natural gas from offshore projects. This will make it possible to fully utilize the potential of the region's fuel and energy sector and create added value in hydrocarbon processing.