Gas availability in individual Russian regions and the roll-out of autonomous gas supply systems in Eastern Russia enable using its diverse resource base.
With the limited infrastructure and sales market for regional projects, the following areas for development are most likely:
The booming investment activity in the Russian regional LNG production projects necessitates significant LNG transportation and storage infrastructure changes, new LNG process and distribution solutions, and significant Russian LNG industry legal regulation changes.
When creating small and medium tonnage production facilities in Russia, one can highlight three strategy models:
Table 5: Model 1: networks of Russian companies' small tonnage LNG
Technology availability, sufficiently high quality for small-volume production and low start-up investments (in absolute terms) attract investors from outside the oil and gas sector into the industry. The use of regional distinctions is Model 2 of the Russian regional LNG industry.
Virtually all small scale plants in Asian Russia are owned by non-core investors (a group of private investors in Novokuznetsk, the AYaM construction association, a private investor, and the Sakhalin Development Corporation in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk). Mid and small scale LNG is today the only gas monetisation option for East Siberian fields.
Mid scale projects of major players also have much in common and are implemented with the maximum use of technological advantages in each particular region.
The development of Russian and global LNG projects has drawn large corporations' attention, including state-owned ones.
Table 6: Model 3: implementation of projects involving industrial partners.
Russian LNG projects have been announced and are being implemented in all capacity segments, including small and mid scale projects, which may account for 13% of the total installed LNG production capacity in Russia in the future.
In the Russian small and mid scale segment, proprietary LNG production technologies are created, and Russian equipment can be applied.
Small and mid scale projects are gaining significance in the Russian gas industry development.
Early in 2019, the mid scale plant started its operations in Vysotsk. Shortly, two more mid scale plants are going to launch – Portovaya CS and Yamal LNG L-4.
Gazprom PJSC intends to leverage its designing and construction of Portovaya CS mid scale plant to implement similar size projects in the Far East and the Black Sea.
Small scale LNG technologies may help efficiently address issues of the Bosporus navigation safety, thus securing Russian LNG a place in the development of LNG bunkering in the Black and Mediterranean Seas.
2019 saw the first Russian LNG export to Mongolia by rail, at a distance of approximately 3000 km, using cryogenic tank containers.
LNG projects stimulate the gas industry development and may contribute to the establishment of Russian gas hubs, claiming the role of gas trading centres within Russia and neighbouring countries. It is especially viable for the Baltic and the Far East regions
LNG production project quantity and size in Russian regions can be boosted by:
Governmental investments may play an essential part in LNG industry development, in particular, by establishing public corporations not only in the area of LNG production but also LNG transportation infrastructure and LNG consumption.
