General – LNG Plant Russia
Six years after construction started on the western shore of the Kola Bay, the first ever gravity-based structure for the production of LNG left the plant in Belokamenka (Russia) on July 21 and set out into the Barents Sea.
The first gravity-based structure built at the Belokamenka construction center was towed from the Kola Bay towards Gydan on the 21st of July.
Vladimir Putin arrived in the construction center located just a few kilometers from the Murmansk City in the afternoon of the 20th of July and was shown around on site by Novatek leader Leonid Mikhelson.
“I want to congratulate company Novatek and Leonid Viktorovich Mikhelson with the development of its projects – huge and very important projects for the energy industry and the economy of the country,” Putin underlined in an address.
Only a few hours after Putin left Belokamenka, the 640,000 ton heavy and more than 110 meter high installation was towed out of Kola Bay. It was a mighty sight for locals on land as five offshore support ships, two tugs and a rescue vessel accompanied the unit. That includes people in nearby Severomorsk, the headquarters city of the Northern Fleet.
On Sunday morning, the ships had made it east of the Kildin island. The convoy will sail through the Kara Gate and into the Kara Sea before it makes it north of the Yamal Peninsula and into the Ob Bay. The voyage is more than 2,500 km long and will take more than a week.
The massive structure that is based on 14 modules delivered by manufacturers in Europe and China is a core part of the Arctic LNG 2 project. Another two similar structures are to be built in Belokamenka and towed to Utrenneye in Gydan. They will have a comprised annual production capacity of 19,8 million tons of LNG.
The Arctic LNG 2 is estimated to have an investment frame of about $21,3 billion. Novatek owns 60 percent of the project, while French energy company Total owns 10 percent, China’s CNPC – 10 percent, CNOOC – 10 percent and a consortium of Japan’s Mitsui & Co and JOGMEC – 10 percent.
