Gazprom plant at Portovaya station already producing LNG, loading first tanker
VLADIVOSTOK. Sept 6 (Interfax) - Production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has begun at a natural gas liquefaction plant at the Portovaya compressor station, Gazprom deputy CEO Vitaly Markelov said at the Eastern Economic Forum.
He said two trains are operating and the plant has already produced the first 30,000 tonnes of LNG. It underwent 72 hours comprehensive testing.
"Now a ship will come that will deliver LNG to consumers. Given the situation on world markets, there will be demand for our LNG," Markelov said.
"The first tanker is being loaded," he told reporters.
Markelov's presentation said that construction and installation work at the LNG plant has been completed. Gas was fed into the process facilities on May 30, the storage facility was readied and the train was launched in August.
The plant, with capacity to produce 1.5 million tonnes of LNG per year, was built on the northeast coast of the Gulf of Finland, 60 km from Vyborg. The plant's LNG will be used to back up gas supplies for Kaliningrad Region, as well as to bolster Gazprom's LNG portfolio.
The plant includes two liquefaction trains, an above-ground tank of 42,000 cubic meters for LNG storage and a floating LNG storage facility of 135,000 cubic meters at the marine loading terminal. The terminal will be able to load LNG onto gas tankers, bunkering vessels and trucks.
Gazprom's Amur Gas Processing Plant (Amur GPP), meanwhile, is preparing to launch a third train. "We will launch the third process train by the end of the year and launch the remaining three by 2025," Markelov said.
Amur GPP's press service said overall progress on the project to build the plant was at 86.5% as of the beginning of September. Repair and pre-commissioning work is being done on the first and second process trains. Aerodynamic testing of the ventilation system and comprehensive testing of the environmental control system are being completed on the third train. Hot commissioning work is being done at the Ladoga No. 5 gas pumping unit. At the dehydration and purification unit, pipelines are being reassembled and fire retardant and insulation are being applied, pre-commissioning work is being done, the plant said.
The CEO of petrochemical company Sibur, Mikhail Karisalov, for his part, said that the Amur Gas Chemical Complex is 80% ready.
Markelov also spoke about the gas industry's preparations for the coming winter. "Our country is virtually ready for the fall-winter period. The country can rest easy, there will be heat and light," he said.