Final configurations have been made for Gazprom’s and RusGazDobycha’s liquified natural gas (LNG) production facility near Ust-Luga in the Leningrad region of Russia. The chosen configuration is expected to optimize logistics equipment setup, including a shared offshore shipping terminal. The project is expected to generate 4 billion USD of revenue each year based on a projected 700 billion RUB investment.
While currently in the implementation stage, the first and second trains are expected to go into production in 2023 and 2024 respectively. Gazprom and RusGazDobycha formed a new entity, RusKhimAlyans, to act as operator. The main tasks for the operator are to develop design plans, kick off land planning activities for the future site, setup contractors, and order equipment.
The project is expected to process 45 billion m3 of ethane-containing gas, leading to the annual production of 13 million tons of LNG, 2.2 million tons of liquified petroleum gases (LPG), and 4 million tons of ethane. The ethane-containing gas will be supplied by Gazprom, originating in the Achimov and Valanginian deposits. The leftover gas after production will feed into the gas transmission system.
Once complete, the complex will employee about 5,000 people and will supply ethane domestically in Russia. The LPG output will be exported, boosting the country’s total LPG exports by up to 40 percent.
The Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, Alexey Miller, stated, “Combining the production of LNG and ethane within one industrial site will have a beneficial effect on the economics and specific indicators of the project and will allow us to considerably mitigate our resource and price risks.”
