Minister sees Russia launching shipbuilding capacity for Arctic development
MOSCOW. Aug 5 (Interfax) - Russia will manage to launch the necessary shipbuilding capacity in time for the implementation of programs to develop the Arctic, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov believes.
"The production element always takes shape for demand. Our oil and gas companies' turn toward our industry is giving a clear signal: we have not been investing in modernization and building capacity in vain. Supplying the additional needs of our oil and gas companies will take us about two to three years. And even in areas where the plans of companies themselves shift for subjective reasons, for example the development of the Arctic shelf, we can temporarily ensure supply for the demand that arises, including for large-capacity shipbuilding," Manturov said in an interview published by business daily Vedomosti on Wednesday.
He said some of the demand can be covered by existing shipyards, such as Baltiysky Zavod in St. Petersburg, the Vyborg shipyard in cooperation with Finnish shipyards, as well as Krasnoye Sormovo, Yantar and Severny Verf.
"As for gas carriers and larger vessels, a project is now being implemented in the Far East - Zvezda, which is supposed to produce its first product by the end of 2018, taking into account the needs of Rosneft and Gazprom ," Manturov said.
He also said that additional capacity will be created in Russia's Northwest, where there are plans to modernize Severny Verf with the construction of dry dock. "And then orders will be supported from two sides - from the Far East and Northwest," Manturov said.
In addition, in 2015 the government shipbuilding program has been refocused on the objective of producing ship equipment, a large amount of which Russia imports.
"We need to ensure this production within our country, in order to reconcile this with plans to produce the vessels themselves. Our oil and gas companies placed a fairly large amount [of orders] at foreign shipyards and only now have begun to more actively place at Russian shipyards. Secondly, before the scale of production of vessels themselves was minimal, so it wasn't profitable to produce ship equipment. Now we have combined the plans - both orders from our companies and the capabilities of our shipyards," Manturov said.
He said his ministry is already "actively working with oil and gas companies," motivating them to buy from Russian manufacturers. On the other hand, they also "understood themselves at a certain point that someone might not supply something."
"Therefore, it's better to place orders at Russian companies ahead of time, so as to always guarantee delivery of what you need," Manturov said.
Responding to a comment by the paper that Zvezda has not even been built yet and cannot guarantee anything, and it is easier for gas producer Novatek , for example, to order gas carriers abroad than wait for the completion of a Russian shipyard, the minister said that the shipyard will hopefully begin delivering product to customers in 2018.
"Novatek's project is split into phases. For the first phase, yes, it was impossible to be in time [to supply the necessary equipment], since the capacity was not ready. As for the situation at Zvezda, cutting of metal will begin in the hull production division in 2016 and after the receipt of the launching device in 2018 the first produced order should roll out," Manturov said.
"Accordingly, by 2018 a package of orders will be ready that are being formed now by Gazprom, Novatek and, foremost, Rosneft, which owns the principal stake in Zvezda," Manturov said.
Speaking about whether companies that do not want to place orders with Zvezda will have a choice, the minister said that "this is a question of economic expediency."
"Naturally, Zvezda should provide more competitive terms so that there are no doubts and temptation to order something on foreign markets. We must ensure quality, delivery dates and the technical requirements that will be made. If we fully satisfy the customer, what's the logic and expediency of buying abroad?" Manturov said.
He also said that the ministry provided for "a certain amount of funds and measures" for import substitution of oil and gas equipment in the shipbuilding development program.
"It's sometimes very difficult to separate oil and gas equipment, equipment for development of the shelf and for development onshore, including for the challenges of shale gas or difficult to access mineral resources," Manturov said.