Another LNG project in Ust-Luga under discussion - governor

ST. PETERSBURG. Aug 1 (Interfax) - Another liquefied natural gas project in Ust-Luga is under consideration, Leningrad Region Governor Alexander Drozdenko said at a press conference, commenting on the construction of an LNG plant by RusChemAlliance (RCA), a joint venture between Gazprom and RusGazDobycha.

"All the liquids from the gas [ethane, propane, butane] will be collected, but what they do with the dry gas is a crossroads for Gazprom. On the one hand, we are probably discussing the construction of another gas liquefaction enterprise in the same location [Ust-Luga], so that already liquefied gas is sold not through the gas pipeline to Europeans, but sold all over the world," he said.

"Either that or carry on in the hope of restoring partnership, at least economic, in order to send dry gas to Europe," Drozdenko said.

He said a fundamental decision was now expected on what to do with dry gas, and all the "liquids collected from it are sought after in the market,"

"Through our contact with colleagues and partners, we are well aware today that wholly Russian gas processing technologies are emerging - for example, Novatek , Gazprom Neft and a number of others have very interesting expertise. It's just a matter of time. The stumbling block is whether this product is needed on the market or not," he said, adding that he was confident that all products related to gas processing would be in demand."

The governor said Europe was no longer talking about "green" but "blue" hydrogen, which is produced from natural gas.

"Europe is already talking not about 'green' but 'blue' hydrogen, but this is the use of gas, that is, the use of a product that has a certain extent of permissible emissions that can dissolve quickly in nature. By the way, the African countries that spoke at the [Russia-Africa] summit, they also said it several times - blue hydrogen, blue hydrogen. We even got together, and the interpreter started to correct them. Green, probably? No, no, blue!" Drozdenko said.

"Nobody's got time now for the green economy, not in the conditions we find ourselves in, let alone so to speak the economic crisis which exists today, whether we want to admit it or not. Today, a number of European companies are in a very difficult situation, those that work at the energy and petrochemical level," the governor said.