Gazprom starting up second train at Amur gas processing plan
PJSC Gazprom subsidiary OOO Gazprom Pererabotka Blagoveshchensk (GPB) has completed construction and started commissioning activities at the second train of its 42-billion cu m/year (bcmy) grassroots Amur natural gas processing plant (AGPP) near Svobodny in Russia’s Far East Amur region (OGJ Online, Oct. 29, 2020).
With assembly of auxiliary and core equipment now completed, startup and commissioning of the AGPP’s second of six production trains were under way as of June 17, Gazprom said.
The mid-June start of commissioning works at AGPP’s second train follows entrance of the complex’s first train into operation on June 9, processing multicomponent gas it receives via the Power of Siberia gas pipeline from the Gazprom Eastern Gas Program’s (EGP) Yakutia gas production center at eastern Russia’s Chayandinskoye field (OGJ Online, June 10, 2021).
Overall construction work on the AGPP has now reached 76.5%, with construction and commissioning of the complex’s four remaining trains still on schedule to be synchronized with increased gas volumes delivered by Power of Siberia from the Irkutsk gas production center at EGP’s Kovyktinskoye field, where work currently is under way to prepare for full-scale production, Gazprom said.
At AGPP’s third and fourth production trains, Gazprom confirmed gas separation equipment is now fully installed. Ongoing works at the two trains include laying of pipes and cables, application of insulation materials, and assembly as well as fire-proofing of metal structures.
On the fifth train, foundation works are completed, with preparations now under way for installation of the ethane and methane separation columns, as well as gas compressor units, according to the operator.
On the sixth train, Gazprom said pouring of foundations and assembly of metal structures also are now in progress.
Elsewhere at the project, Gazprom confirmed the helium hub—a logistics hub for servicing of thermally-insulated helium containers near Vladivostok—will soon be entered into operation. Once online, the hub will deliver liquid helium it receives from the AGPP by LNG-powered trucks to the ports of Primorye Territory for export to the global market.
Gazprom also has completed construction of a small-scale LNG plant at the helium hub to accommodate refueling of freight trucks.
During the remainder of 2021, Gazprom said it plans to bring 51 pieces of heavy cargo weighing a total of 5,500 tonnes via river and sea vessels to the AGPP site as part of the remaining construction process.
Scheduled to reach full-design capacity in 2025 and equipped with cryogenic gas separation technology licensed by Linde AG, the €11.4-billion AGPP forms part of Gazprom’s implementation of its EGP to integrate field developments, pipeline, and natural gas production centers in East Siberia and Russia’s Far East to support the company’s commitment to supply 38 billion cu m/year of Russian natural gas into China over 30 years (OGJ Online, May 29, 2020).
Once fully operational, the AGPP—which receives process steam and electricity generated by Gazprom’s Svobodny thermal power plant commissioned in April 2021—will produce about 2.4 million tonnes/year (tpy) of ethane, 1 million tpy of propane, 500,000 tpy of butane, 200,000 tpy of pentane-hexane fraction, and as much as 60 million-cu m/year of helium.
Ethane production at the complex mostly will be delivered as feedstock to the PJSC Sibur Holding (60%)-China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec, 40%) joint venture Amur GCC LLC’s nearby 2.7-million tpy integrated Amur gas chemical complex (AGCC) currently under construction near Svobodny (OGJ Online, June 7, 2021).
Scheduled for startup in 2024, AGCC will produce 2.3 million tpy of polyethylene and 400,000 tpy of polypropylene, according to Sibur.
Robert Brelsford | Downstream Editor
Robert Brelsford joined Oil & Gas Journal in October 2013 as downstream technology editor after 8 years as a crude oil price and news reporter on spot crude transactions at the US Gulf Coast, West Coast, Canadian, and Latin American markets. He holds a BA (2000) in English from Rice University and an MS (2003) in education and social policy from Northwestern University.