Russia’s Gazprom is planning to add another liquefaction train at its recently launched Portovaya LNG production, storage, and shipment complex in the Leningrad region.
The first cargo of LNG produced at the Portovaya LNG complex departed the facility this week on board the 170,000-cbm LNG carrier Pskov, owned by Sovcomflot.
The plant liquefies natural gas coming from the nearby Portovaya compressor station, part of Gazprom’s currently closed Nord Stream pipeline.
Once fully commissioned, the Portovaya LNG plant will produce about 1.5 million tons of LNG per year from two trains that use Linde liquefaction tech.
Linde said earlier this year it had suspended all business development activities in Russia in order to comply with sanctions imposed by the European Union and the US.
Up to two million tons of LNG
According to a statement issued on Thursday, Gazprom is planning to build another Portovaya liquefaction unit using domestic technologies.
The state-owned firm said in the statement that it had signed a cooperation agreement with RusChemAlliance and Gazprom Linde Engineering, a joint venture of Gazprom and Linde.
Under the deal, the partners would look into potential options for expanding the Portovaya LNG complex, which is currently undergoing start-up and commissioning operations, Gazprom said.
“The parties will explore the possibility of building an additional production train with a capacity of up to two million tons of LNG per year using domestic technologies and equipment,” the firm said.
Gazprom did not provide any additional information.
Small-scale LNG plant
Besides this move, Gaprom said it would cooperate with the Astrakhan region to build a small-scale LNG complex in the Lotus special economic zone.
Gazprom Helium Service signed three cooperation agreements, including for the LNG plant.
The complex would serve mainly motor vehicles, waterborne transport, and specialized machinery, according to Gazprom.
In the long run, LNG might be used for off-grid gas supplies to consumers in the region, the firm said.