Today during the XIV International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom and Sergey Frank, Director General of Sovcomflot signed a Cooperation Agreement on marine transportation of the Shtokman field liquefied natural gas (LNG).

In particular, the document envisages interaction of the companies in developing LNG transportation logistic schemes, determining the appropriate specifications for gas carriers and configuring the fleet required for the Shtokman project implementation. Priority will be given to Russian shipbuilding companies when placing orders on a competitive basis under otherwise equal conditions.

“Gazprom aims at making the maximum use of the domestic companies’ potential in developing Russia’s offshore fields, primarily, the unique Shtokman field. Our main objectives are reliability, security and efficiency. In this regard, introduction of state-of-the-art technologies, development of the domestic engineering industry and creation of strong economic ties are the necessary preconditions for further development of the new oil and gas production region on the Arctic shelf,” said Alexey Miller.

“Our companies have a long-lasting history of successful cooperation within the Sakhalin II project execution and the Prirazlomnoye field development. When implementing the Shtokman project we are ready to share with our colleagues the best practices of supervision over the LNG carrier construction and operation processes,” noted Sergey Frank.

Among the innovative solutions to be used in designing shipboard equipment, systems, mechanisms and insulation materials is the Green Ship Technology that allows to significantly mitigate the adverse environmental impact. Moreover, the dual-fuel diesel engines capable of running both on liquid fuel and on natural gas are planned to be used in order to cut down hazardous emissions and raise the engine efficiency. Onshore power supply in ports, for cargo handling, inter alia, will help mitigate the environmental impact.

Background:

The Shtokman field is located in the central part of the Russian sector of the Barents Sea shelf. The field’s C1 reserves make up 3.9 trillion cubic meters of gas and 56.1 million tons of gas condensate, with 3.8 trillion cubic meters of gas and 53.4 million tons of gas condensate located within Gazprom’s licensed area.

The Shtokman gas and condensate field development project is of strategic significance for Gazprom. The field will become a resource base for Russian pipeline gas and LNG exports to the Atlantic Basin markets.

Gazprom partners with Total (France) and Statoil (Norway) in the Shtokman project execution.

In February 2008 Gazprom, Total and StatoilHydro signed the Shareholder Agreement on establishing Shtokman Development AG, a special-purpose company to engineer, design, construct, finance and operate the Phase 1 facilities intended for the Shtokman field development.

On February 5, 2010, taking into account the market changes, particularly on the LNG market, the Shtokman Development AG  Board of Directors decided to single out construction of the Startup Complex for Pipeline Gas Supply into a separate stage within Phase 1.

The final investment decision on pipeline gas production is planned to be taken in March 2011 and the decision on LNG production – before the end of 2011, at the next stage. Such an approach will enable launching pipeline gas and LNG production in 2016  and 2017, accordingly.

Sovcomflot Group is one of Russia’s largest infrastructural companies operating the fleet of 143 vessels with the total deadweight exceeding 10 million tons. The effective shipbuilding program covers 10 vessels with the total deadweight of 0.8 million tons.

- The average tanker fleet age is 7 years (the world’s average – 12  years).

- The company owns the world’s largest ice breaking fleet being number one operator of the arctic shuttle tankers and ice class gas carriers.

- The company provides its customers with hydrocarbon transportation services, transfers crude oil with the use of floating storage facilities, actively develops effective logistic schemes for energy carriers transportation across the Arctic region, inter alia, renders procurement services for drilling rigs and production platforms using specialized procurement vessels, and performs technical management of vessels.

- In 2009 Sovcomflot entered an important business segment related to  rendering procurement services for drilling rigs with the use of procurement vessels.

- The company was awarded the prestigious Seatrade Global Performer 2010  award in recognition of its pioneering operations in the Arctic.