Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kaliningrad put into operation a terminal for receiving liquefied natural gas and a floating platform for converting LNG to a gaseous state (regasification) "Mikhail Vasilevsky." The head of state noted that the new facility is of key importance for the energy security of the Russian enclave.
“The capacity of the terminal - 2.7 billion cubic meters of gas per year - almost fully covers the needs of the region, guarantees a reliable alternative option for its gas supply, reduces dependence on transit gas supplies. Not what reduces it, but reduces them to zero, ”Putin said.
The head of state stressed that the construction of the regasification platform is “the first such project in the Russian energy industry”. At the same time, Putin expressed the hope that even though LNG is more expensive than pipe gas, the Russian government will make sure that the residents of the region do not feel the difference.
“The government has such an order to prepare proposals (I know that, in general, they have already been formulated, I am waiting for a report on this matter) about the fact that the difference in the price of pipe gas and liquefied natural gas supplied to Kaliningrad does not put an additional burden the shoulders of the end user in the Kaliningrad region, ”he said.
The new terminal is located approximately five kilometers from the coast. To supply gas from it to the residents, a special gas pipeline was built. The construction of the Kaliningrad underground storage and gas liquefaction plant is also continuing. Earlier, the Kaliningrad region was supplied with gas through the main gas pipelines along the route Minsk-Vilnius-Kaunas-Kaliningrad.
“The diagram now shows that the gas supply system through the Minsk-Vilnius-Kaunas-Kaliningrad gas pipeline is completely disconnected, and the gas supply to the Kaliningrad region is currently fully implemented through the marine receiving terminal,” said Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller.
“The task that you set - to ensure guaranteed autonomous gas supply to the Kaliningrad region from the sea - has been accomplished,” Miller added.
For the first time in Russia
The terminal was built by more than two thousand Gazprom employees and many contracting companies. Igor Safonov, Director General of Gazprom UGS, spoke about this during Putin’s visit to the opening facility.
“The breakwater and the terminal are at a distance of five kilometers from the coast. The depth of the sea here is 19 meters so that the ship Marshal Vasilevsky (floating platform for regasification. - RT ) can moor safely, ”he said in a conversation with Putin.
- LNG terminal layout
- © Information Directorate, PJSC Gazprom
Safonov stressed that the breakwater is able to protect the terminal from "big storms that are not uncommon in this region."
At the same time, Marshal Vasilevsky, for the first time in Russia, can not only transport liquefied natural gas, but also independently translate it into a gaseous state, the ship’s captain Dmitry Yarimbash noted.
“The length of the vessel is almost 300 m, width - 46.5 m. Travel speed - 19.5 knots In the "Marshal Vasilevsky" tanks the temperature is maintained at -163 ° C. They contain 174 thousand cubic meters of liquefied natural gas ... The installation is fully ready to begin the process of regasification and supplying gas to the shore, ”he stressed.
At the same time, the construction of a similar terminal is possible in other regions with a difficult geographic location, such as Kamchatka, Alexey Grivach, Deputy Director for Gas Issues of the National Energy Security Fund, said in a conversation with RT.
“For remote regions, the possibility of building a regasification terminal is being considered. In Kamchatka, where there are also certain limits associated with own gas production, and, accordingly, the construction of such a terminal could increase gas supplies to the region, provide further gasification, or provide an alternative source of gas in case of depletion of resources. This project is being considered, ”he said.