Pechora LNG project could be launched in 2018, capacity could be 8 mln tpy
MOSCOW. Sept 25 (Interfax) - Gazprom's design institute OJSC Giprospetsgaz has prepared a pre-investment study for the Pechora LNG project to produce liquefied natural gas based on the Kumzhinskoye and Korovinskoye fields in the Nenets Autonomous District, CJSC SN Invest, which is implementing the project, said.
Under the project schedule worked out by Giprospetsgaz, the LNG plant would be launched in the fourth quarter of 2018 if the design phase begins in the first quarter of 2013. Natural gas production will total 4.5 billion cubic meters to 13.4 bcm per year depending on the resource base involved in the project. Accordingly, LNG production would total 2.6 million to 8 million tonnes per year.
Capital expenditures on the project are estimated at $4.5 billion-$12 billion depending on the technical concept for the plant and the volume of production.
Giprospetsgaz considered and analysed a total of 12 options for implementing the Pechora LNG project, including the possibility of expanding the resource base for the project and various options for building the LNG plant (onshore and offshore, on a floating platform or gravity platform), as well as various price scenarios for oil and LNG. According to the results of the pre-investment study, the project is technically possible and commercially attractive in all the considered options.
"It was also noted that the project has potential to reduce capital expenditures and further improve financial and economic performance by reducing the length of the gas pipeline, streamlining supplies of oil and a number of other factors. According to the marketing of sales markets, the Pechora LNG project has potential to enter international markets in the planned period," SN Invest said.
The pre-investment study will be submitted to Gazprom's upstream department for evaluation.
LLC Pechora LNG, a division of the Alltech group, was set up in 2011 to implement the project. SN Invest holds the rights to the Kumzhinskoye field, while the license to Korovinskoye is held by another Alltech unit, LLC EvroSeverNeft. The fields have combined ABC1+ C2 reserves of 145 bcm of natural gas and 3.9 million tonnes of condensate.