Novatek to order 1,500-MW power plant for Arctic LNG 2 from China's Wison
MOSCOW. May 16 (Interfax) - Novatek plans to build an onshore gas turbine power plant with capacity of 1,500 MW to general electricity and support the operation of a plant to produce, store and offload liquefied natural gas (LNG) and stable gas condensate, the Russian gas producer reported.
The power plant will be built in three stages. The first will involve launching 500 MW of installed capacity to meet the needs of the LNG plant's second train. The second stage will see the launch of another 500 MW of capacity for the plant's third train.
The final stage will launch another 500 MW of capacity for the safe and reliable operation of the first train and to meet the electricity needs of onshore infrastructure.
Each of the three stages will involve the delivery of four modules with maximum operational readiness, designed and manufactured by China's Wison, with a set of 20 gas turbine generators and auxiliary equipment, systems and generator connections; one 220 kV substation module with maximum operation readiness, also designed and made by Wison, with auxiliary equipment, systems and module connections, the documents said.
Initially, Novatek planned to use gas turbines from Baker Hughes for the LNG's compressors and power supply, but last spring Russian LNG projects were hit by western sanctions. Novatek CEO Leonid Mikhelson said that in the period for which the sanctions were deferred the company managed to receive the main equipment for all three phases of the LNG plant, but not the gas turbines.
The company considered replacing the turbines with an electric drive using Russian equipment, and a floating power plant from Turkey's Karpowership. But in February Mikhelson said "negotiations with the Turkish company ceased a long time ago because they changed the terms for providing this power plant every month."
He also said at the time that Novatek had found a solution to supply power for the first and second phases of its Arctic LNG 2 project. "We found the necessary power generation, the first and second trains are fully covered with the necessary capacity for power generation," Mikhelson said.
Novatek affirmed the dates for launching the project. The first train is expected to come on line at the end of 2023, the second in 2024 and the third in 2026.
The Arctic LNG 2 project, with an initial cost of $21.3 billion, involves the construction of three LNG production trains with capacity of 6.6 million tonnes per year each. The LNG modules are being built on gravity based structures. The platforms will be towed from Murmansk Region to the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, close to the project's resource base on the Gydan Peninsula, the Salmanovskoye field.