Gazprom, Sibur review future gas processing, chemical project partnerships

PJSC Gazprom and PJSC Sibur Holding have signed two roadmaps for cooperation for implementing major investment projects in gas processing and gas chemistry.

Signed on Oct. 3, the documents follow a coordination agreement between the companies signed in September, Gazprom said.

The first roadmap stipulates, among other things, a feasibility study to be carried out regarding transmission of ethane-containing gas from fields in the Nadym-Pur-Taz region as well as construction of a gas processing plant in Tatarstan.

The second roadmap outlines diagnostics, engineering surveys, and design documentation to be drawn up regarding construction of the Novy Urengoy gas chemical complex in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area.

Based on outcomes of the roadmaps, the two companies will decide on their future cooperation for the proposed projects, Gazprom said.

In September the companies signed a document outlining basic terms of long-term supplies of LPG and additional volumes of ethane fraction from the Amur gas processing plant to Sibur’s future Amur gas chemical complex. According to that preliminary contract, the aggregate amount of feedstock deliveries may reach as much as 1.5 million tonnes/year, prices of which will be calculated based on formulas agreed upon by the parties, according to a Sept. 5 release from Gazprom.

Considering a contract for about 2 million tpy of ethane fraction supplies signed by the parties in May 2018, the overall amount of ethane fraction and LPG deliveries may total up to 3.5 million tpy, Gazprom said.

Enhanced cooperation between the companies aims to help set up a major gas processing and chemical cluster in the Amur region, spurring socioeconomic development in the Russian Far East, the companies said.

With a design capacity of 42 billion cu m/year, Gazprom’s Amur plant will include six processing trains, two of which are scheduled for start-up in 2021. In addition to natural gas, the plant will produce ethane, propane, butane, pentane-hexane fraction, and helium (OGJ Online, May 7, 2018).

Sibur separately is developing the Amur complex construction project, which will be technically affiliated with the Amur plant. The increase in feedstock supplies will allow Sibur to expand design capacities of the Amur complex from 1.5 million tpy of polyethylene to about 2.3 million tpy of polyethylene and 400,000 tpy of polypropylene.

Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].