Gazprom to Start Commissioning Amur Plant

Gazprom plans to start commissioning work at the 42 Bcm/yr Amur gas processing plant during this quarter, which will refine natural gas for exports to China, Deputy CEO Vitaly Markelov told an in-house magazine last week. The Russian natural gas giant plans this year to launch two of the plant’s six 7 Bcm/yr trains. The plant will reach design capacity in the beginning of 2025, after the launch of the sixth train, Markelov reiterated. In 2025, Gazprom plans to increase exports via the Power of Siberia pipeline to China to the contracted level of 38 Bcm/yr. The Amur plant will refine 42 Bcm/yr of East Siberian gas coming from the Chayandinskoye field and, starting in 2022, from the Kovyktinskoye field into 38 Bcm/yr of dry gas to be sent further to China. The plant is located in the town of Svobodny, near Blagoveshchensk, in the Amur region close to the Chinese border. The plant will also produce up to 2.6 million tons/yr of ethane, up to 1 million tons/yr of propane, around 500,000 tons/yr of butane and up to 200,000 tons/yr of pentane-hexane fraction, as well as up to 60 MMcm/yr of helium (NC May7'20). Near the Amur plant, Gazprom is considering building an LNG plant for supplies to the domestic market, Markelov was quoted as saying. The LNG plant may supply off-grid customers, in line with the Kremlin’s push for greater use of natural gas. It may also supply the Vostochny Cosmodrome space launch center and sell LNG as motor fuel, Markelov said, without giving an idea on the size of the plant. Power of Siberia supplies started in 2019, with rich gas now being treated at the Chayandinskoye field before going into the pipe. Helium is now also extracted from rich gas at Chayandinskoye and is pumped back into deposit. Gazprom exported 4.1 Bcm via Power of Siberia last year, below the planned level of 5 Bcm. This year, the plan is to export 10 Bcm, as Chayandinskoye production gradually increases and more compressor stations are added along the Power of Siberia route.