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  • 2013 December 21

    Phantoms of Russian infrastructure 2013

    Late last year we wrote about the port projects, existing only on paper. During the year nothing was added to the list. Some of the projects have been revised and updated. We are talking about deep-water ports in Kaliningrad and Arkhangelsk, MTU, Pechora LNG, BELKOMUR and Stockman.

    Probing the bottom

    In September 2013, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Kaliningrad region Alexei Klyuneev said that the Kaliningrad deepwater port project finally found a Russian investor, without disclosing it name.

     

     

     

    Alexei Klyuneev added that the project will be revised to make them more concrete and take into account the realities of competition with neighboring ports. As a possible site for the future port was named Yantarny and Pionersky village. Investment in the project is estimated at RUB 36.6 billion. The project should be carried out on a public-private partnership scheme.

    Later the local media reported that Gazprom might be the investor and liquefied natural gas as possible cargo. In September, Gazprom has commissioned a gas storage facility. Initially, the port was projected as a container but not a gas terminal.

    Later, the media reported citing the letter of the regional government to the Ministry of Transport, that the issue of potential investors is pending. It seems obvious, there has been no investor found as yet, and you never can tell they will find him ever. Read more details in our story >>>>

    Another project announced by Alexei Klyuneev is the construction of a cruise terminal for the FIFA World Cup in 2018. According to the official the project is valued at 5 billion rubles. The project will be brought about at the expense of the federal funds. The terminal will have 1 to 2 berths capable of accommodating mega cruise liners. "We came to the conclusion that it makes no sense to build the terminal that will not be able to receive the most modern ships of appropriate size", Klyuneev told reporters.

    However, it is not quite clear what will happen to this terminal after the event. Klyuneev himself noted that the businesses are not interested in this project.

    Actually, we can understand local officials who are seeking to attract multibillion resources to the region. However, we believe it would be more appropriate to take into account specific needs of Kaliningrad instead of ambitious mega-projects. For example, to develop feeder ferry, container and Ro-Ro services between the enclave and mainland Russia. This would ensure to local producers, for example, AVTOTOR, alternative routes for its products supply bypassing Lithuania and Belarus with their ambiguous tariff policy >>>>.


    As for another deepwater port project now in Arkhangelsk, during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2013 Arkhangelsk Governor Igor Orlov told IAA PortNews that the project is correlated with the construction of the Belkomur railway line, so potential investors of the port project expect more certainty on this issue. See more details about the project and BELKOMUR >>>>

    MTU awaits verdict

    In December, speaking to PortNews on the sidelines of 3rd International Forum "The Arctic: The Present and Future" Murmansk Governor Marina Kovtun said that Murmansk Transport Hub (MTU) investors ("Port Lavna" and "Rosneft") will be ready to proceed with the project once they have received a positive conclusion of GlavGosEkspertiza on the project that should happen soon.

    The Murmansk region shared that Rosneft has become a key investor in the region. The company plans to build an oil terminal on the west coast of the Kola Bay in the framework of MTU. Besides, Rosneft mulls over the creation of a ship dock on the basis of the 82nd Dockyard for offshore project, and perhaps development of the field "Murmanskoye" (See the previously published interview with Marina Kovtun >>>>.

    To a certain extent it could be a replacement for Stockman project, perhaps to the largest "phantom" among Russia's projects, which was shelved in 2012. This year, the situation with the project has not changed. In April 2013, Kirill Molodtsov, Deputy Minister of Energy of Russia vowed that the Shtokman project will remain a priority project of the industry whatever it takes. However, only the technical concept development will require more than three years. In particular, the project included the construction of a transshipment terminal in Teriberka.

    Pechora LNG stumbled upon liberalization

    Another phantom project turns out to be the construction of a FLNG in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO), "Pechora LNG." Previously, it was said that the FLNG would be located in the area of Indiga, with a 300-km-long pipeline linking it with deposits in the Pechora. Port Indiga was planned as a deep-water port with depths of about 17 m. Investor of the project is AlTek Group. The FLNG was projected to be built by 2018.

    In December 2013, the NAO Governor Igor Fyodorov told PortNews that because the liberalization of LNG exports concerns only a limited circle of companies, this project will be handed over to one of them. According to the official, the project may be of some interest to Rosneft, Novatek, Zarubezhneft and Gazprom, that is, the companies that will enjoy the privilege of direct LNG exports.

    Igor Fyodorov added that Murmansk region's social services might also benefit from the project, as the gas could be supplied from the project to this region. However, it's still to be seen will the companies be willing to participate in the Pechora LNG project or not. Unfortunately, all of them, except Zarubezhneft, have already been engaged in their own LNG plants projects.

    Vitaly Chernov

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