28 Sep 2021 10:25

Sakhalin-2 to ship first carbon neutral LNG to Japan in Oct

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK. Sept 28 (Interfax) - Sakhalin Energy and Japan's have agreed to work together on the shipment of the first carbon neutral liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Sakhalin-2 project, which is already scheduled for early October, Sakhalin Energy reported on Tuesday.

The agreement, which was signed at the Sakhalin Oil and Gas conference that opened in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on Tuesday, calls for "cooperation in decarbonisation, which will begin with the delivery of the first carbon neutral/offset LNG cargo from the Sakhalin-2 project," the company said in a press release.

"The first shipment of the carbon neutral/offset LNG cargo from the Sakhalin-2 project will take place in early October. The cargo will be delivered by the Russian gas carrier Grand Aniva to Chita LNG Terminal, Aichi Prefecture," the company said.

"The company's decarbonisation initiatives are complex measures within production processes that will result in the delivery of the first carbon neutral LNG at the Sakhalin-2 project. Sakhalin Energy will continue moving in this direction, developing cooperation with the buyers in the Asia-Pacific, who place a big focus on the range of environmental issues," Sakhalin Energy CEO Roman Dashkov was quoted as saying in the press release.

The first delivery of carbon neutral/offset LNG "is a key step in implementation of the corporate Green LNG strategy, which aims to reduce the carbon footprint of the Sakhalin-2 project and to ensure Sakhalin Energy's leading position in a new area of energy products market," Dashkov said.

Sakhalin-2 involves the development of the offshore Piltun-Astokhskoye and Lunskoye field of the Sakhalin coast. Sakhalin Energy's shareholders are Gazprom with 50% plus one share, Royal Dutch Shell (SPB: RDS.A) with 27.5% minus one share, and Japan's Mitsui and Mitsubishi with 12.5% and 10%, respectively.

The Sakhalin-2 LNG plant in Prigorodny, at the southern end of Sakhalin Island, went into operation in February 2009 and reached full design capacity of 9.6 million tonnes of LNG per year (two trains with capacity of 4.8 million tonnes each) in 2010. A subsequent optimization program boosted the plant's production by 20% to 11.5 million tonnes per year.