Gazprom launches first facility for off-grid gas supplies in Amur Region

Today, the ceremony was held in the Svobodnensky District of the Amur Region for the launch of the region's first small-scale Natural Gas Liquefaction Complex (NGLC). The project was implemented by Gazprom Helium Service.

Taking part in the event were Vitaly Markelov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, Alexey Sevostiyanov, Deputy Chairman of the Amur Region Government – Minister of Forestry and Fire Safety of the Amur Region, and Lyubov Brish, Director General of Gazprom Helium Service.

The newly built Complex is the key facility in the pilot project for off-grid gas supplies in the Amur Region. The capacity of the Complex is 1.5 tons of LNG per hour (or 12,600 tons per year). The product output will be built up as the consumers become ready to receive liquefied natural gas.

The main LNG consumer will be the eco-friendly gas boiler house which is currently under construction in the Amurselmash urban district of Belogorsk, the second largest city of the Amur Region. Once ready, the new boiler house will replace the existing fuel oil one which currently provides heat and hot water to 37 apartment buildings, two kindergartens, a school, and a community center.

The products of the Complex will be brought to Belogorsk in special cryogenic tanks by eco-friendly freight trucks powered by LNG. As of today, the construction of the receiving, storage and regasification system is nearing completion in the vicinity of the gas boiler house. The system will serve to store liquefied gas at constant temperature, convert it to gaseous form and then supply it to the boiler house.

Presence of the LNG production facility in the Svobodnensky District also makes it possible to provide LNG refueling to Gazprom Helium Service's vehicle fleet and, in the future, to the vehicles of the Amur Gas Processing Plant. The possibility of LNG supplies to the Vostochny Cosmodrome will also be ensured in line with the memorandum signed between Gazprom Helium Service and Space Rocket Center Progress; other commercial consumers will be provided with the possibility of LNG supplies as well.

The Government of the Amur Region will examine the efficiency of the boiler house in the Amurselmash urban district and consider the possibilities to convert other boiler houses of the region to LNG. When creating the NGLC, Gazprom has foreseen that the production capacity of the facility can be promptly doubled to reach 3 tons per hour (or 25,200 tons per year).