Gazprom expects to open seven more CNG filling stations in Far East by 2027; fuel demand is low

VLADIVOSTOK. June 29 (Interfax) - Gazprom Gas Motor Fuel LLC plans to boost the number of compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations from six to 13 in Russia's Far East toward the end of 2026, Vyacheslav Cheboksarov, director of the company's Siberian branch, said on Thursday at the East Russia Oil and Gas Forum in Vladivostok.

"The company has six CNG filling stations operating in the district, with one in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatka, three in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and one in Khabarovsk. In addition to the Gazprom Gas Motor Fuel CNG filling stations, other operators also have gas filling infrastructures, specifically in the Sakha Republic and the Chukotka Autonomous District," Cheboksarov said at the forum.

According to Cheboksarov's presentation, the company expects to construct three more stations in Primorye, with one each in Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, and Artem; two in the Sakhalin Region, with one each in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Korsakov; one in the Kamchatka Territory, in the city of Yelizovo; and two in the Khabarovsk Territory, with one each in Khabarovsk and Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

Meantime, there has been noticeable growth in consumption in recent years. Specifically, sales of compressed natural gas (CNG) totaled 2,300 cubic meters in the Far East Federal District in 2018, then quadrupled to 9,880 cubic meters in 2022, with sales of 10,800 cubic meters forecast for 2023, growth of 9%.