Russia (bbabo.net), - From the Yakutsk gas condensate fields, in addition to the Power of Siberia, it is planned to lay another main gas pipeline over the next five years. It is expected that it will reach the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, where an LNG production plant will be built at the same time.

The project is being implemented by the Globaltek enterprise created for this purpose on the resource base of the Yakutsk Fuel and Energy Company (YATEK). These are the structures of A-Property, which bought out the Yakut gas assets quite recently, in 2019.

For decades, fuel from several large fields went only to the needs of Yakutsk and the surrounding areas. All branches from the main pipe ended in dead ends, and the development prospects for the subsoil user and gas transporters hit the ceiling of a small regional market. There were ideas to establish a gas chemical production near the capital of the republic in order to export products by rail, but environmentalists and local residents stood up against these plans. The new owner of the enterprise went a different way.

A main gas pipeline with a length of more than 1,350 kilometers from existing fields to the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk is already being designed. And a few days ago, Japanese and Norwegian specialized companies won a tender to design a plant for the production of at least 18 million tons of LNG per year. It is planned to build it in two phases. The first one is in 2027.

For such volumes, it is necessary to increase the resource base from the current 432 billion cubic meters to a trillion. This is done through geological exploration (including at existing fields), as well as the acquisition of new license areas, which is a very difficult task. The point is that nearby are the fields of Gazprom, which, no less than the Yakutian gas producers, is interested in the growth of reserves. Therefore, the struggle for each new acquisition is serious. For example, in December last year, during the auction, YATEC acquired the Sobolokhsky subsoil plot for 209.8 million rubles at a starting price of 2.6 million. The victory went to the enterprise at the 161st step of the auction. However, "Gazprom" also won the rights to three other sites, having made from 200 to 310 steps.

Assessing the rush demand for Yakut gas, Andrey Korobov, General Director of YATEK, noted:

- We are talking not only about reserves, but also about a unique geographical position - proximity to the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the markets of the Asia-Pacific region.

The future beneficiaries of the project live far outside the region. And what will Yakutia get in addition to expanding the tax base? Obviously, local authorities are counting on a lot, since recently, when considering the financial and economic activities of YATEK, the head of the region, Aisen Nikolaev, said:

- Unprecedented in terms of volume, the Yakutsk gas project is of particular importance for the republic. The government needs to create all conditions for its successful implementation.

A 400-kilometer product pipeline to the Yakut village of Nizhny Bestyakh will be laid next to the main pipe. Gas condensate and other fractions will be pumped through it, and not far from the village it is planned to build a plant for their processing, including into motor fuel for the needs of the region. Of course, the authorities attach great importance to the employment of local residents at new facilities. And there is another important circumstance that makes the commercial project very attractive for Yakutia. In May 2020, when it became known about the plans of A-Property, Aisen Nikolaev said that the republic was primarily interested in the development of geological exploration and gas transportation infrastructure on its territory with associated gasification of southeastern settlements.

If everything works out, areas will be gasified that, under other circumstances, gas pipelines would never have reached. In the west and south of the region, where the Power of Siberia takes place, this work is planned under the Gazprom program. And in the southeast, if there is a sufficient resource base, fuel will come through the pipe that is still being designed.

bbabo.Net