Third train to expand Sakhalin-2 LNG plant to 15 mln tonnes/year
YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK. Sept 29 (Interfax) - The construction of a third train at the LNG plant of the Sakhalin-2 project could expand the plant's capacity to 15 million tonnes per year, the CEO of project operator Sakhalin Energy, Roman Dashkov said at the Sakhalin Oil and Gas 2015 conference on Tuesday.
"With the construction of a third phase at the LNG plant, there will be three production lines with combined capacity of 15 million tonnes of LNG per year and three LNG storage tanks," Dashkov said.
He said this would be the "most optimal and economically sound option for increasing production of Russian LNG on the world market." Sakhalin Energy's experience in building and operating the plant, infrastructure and human resources potential will enable the company to implement the project at the highest level, he said.
"The construction and launch of a third LNG line will strengthen Russia's position as a leading producer of energy resources, bring economic benefits to the country and help to further strengthen the energy security of the Asia-Pacific region," Dashkov said.
He also said that the company has increased the productivity of the plant by 10% thanks to innovative technology and optimization of production processes, and its capacity is now 10.5 million tonnes of LNG per year compared to the initial design capacity of 9.6 million tonnes.
This year the company carried out the first major repairs on the first train at the plant. The modernization of cooling heat exchangers made it possible to increase the line's productivity by another 1-2%. Similar work is planned at the second train next year.
Dashkov also said that last year 80% of LNG under the Sakhalin-2 project was shipped to Japan, 18% to South Korea and the remainder to China, Taiwan and Thailand.
