Russia’s Gazprom has started building a giant natural gas and LNG production complex in the Baltic port of Ust-Luga.
To mark the construction start, Gazprom and partner RusGazDobycha held a ceremony on Friday attended by Gazprom chief Alexei Miller and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.
Gazprom and RusGazDobycha agreed to build the gas processing, liquefaction, and helium complex worth more than 700 billion rubles ($9.5 billion) in March last year.
The complex will have a total processing capacity of 45 Bcm/year, the largest capacity in Russia and one of the largest in the world in terms of gas processing, according to Gazprom.
In addition, the project includes the 13 mtpa Baltic LNG plant which will consist of two trains but also ethane fraction and LPG production facilities.
RusKhimAlyans, the project operator of the complex established on a parity basis by Gazprom and RusGazDobycha, has also entered into an agreement with German industrial gas firm Linde.
The deal covers “advanced processing and liquefaction of natural gas, gas chemistry, as well as creation and development of promising technologies,” Gazprom said.
Gazprom previously said it expected the first train of the complex to go into operation in the fourth quarter of 2023 and the second train in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Yamal gas field deal
Besides the construction start, Gazprom has also signed an agreement with RusGazDobycha to develop the Tambey field on the Yamal Peninsula.
The state-owned giant will initially provide high ethane-content gas to the complex from existing fields in Russia’s Nadym-Pur-Taz region.
However, the complex would also get gas from the Tambey field from 2026, Gazprom said.
The field’s reserves amount to over 5.2 trillion cubic meters of gas and 380 million tons of oil and gas condensate, it said.
Also, Russian state development corporation VEB.RF has provided financing for the huge complex.
“The financing from VEB.RF has made it possible to start onsite works in a timely fashion,” Gazprom said.