Russia’s LNG exporter Novatek said it had obtained a Russian patent for its proprietary technology called “Arctic Mix” for large-scale natural gas liquefaction using mixed refrigerants.
According to a statement by Novatek, the firm developed this LNG process technology to implement the company’s large-scale projects on gravity-based structures with a production capacity of 6+ mmtpa per LNG train.
Mixed refrigerants in the process allow it to be used in a wider geography with a better energy efficiency and leaner equipment list, it said.
Novatek said this innovation is an “important step towards” the localization of liquefaction process trains in alignment with the company’s strategic objective to develop LNG technologies in Russia.
Leveraging domestically manufactured equipment for critical parts of the process will enhance the competitiveness of large-scale LNG projects implemented by Novatek, it added.
LNG terminals
Novatek also recently upgraded its “Arctic Cascade” liquefaction tech which it uses at the fourth Yamal LNG train.
The company said it intends to use the ACM liquefaction process for the company’s large-scale LNG projects in the Arctic with a production capacity of 3 mmtpa per LNG train.
The Yamal LNG plant in Sabetta has three 5.5 mtpa liquefaction trains and one smaller unit with a capacity of about 900,000 tons per year.
Besides Yamal, Novatek operates a medium-scale LNG plant in Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Vysotsk and is building the Arctic LNG 2 project.
The LNG project located on the Gydan peninsula includes the construction of three LNG trains with a capacity of 6.6 mtpa, each, using gravity-based structure platforms.
Novatek expects to launch the first Arctic LNG 2 GBS in late 2023 despite Western sanctions on Russian firms, including access to Western technology.
Recent Russian media reports also said that Novatek is planning to build a large LNG export plant in Murmansk, on the Barents Sea.
The LNG project consists of three units with capacity of 6.8 million tonnes per year and Novatek is planning to launch the units during 2027-2029, according to the reports.
The size of the productions units fits with the “Arctic Mix” technology.