Operation of NOVATEK’s LNG complex in Bechevinskaya Bay to enter its active phase in late 2023
The port’s annual throughput can make 22 million tonnes with the number of calls nearing 40 per month
NOVATEK expects its LNG complex in the Bechevinskaya Bay, Kamchatka, to enter its active phase of operation in the end of 2023, IAA PortNews correspondent cites Yevgeny Ambrosov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of PAO NOVATEK, as saying at the external meeting in the framework of the Eastern Economic Forum “Prospects of Year-Round Navigation on the Northern Sea Route”.
“The terminal in Kamchatka is an essential element of NOATEK projects’ transport infrastructure. Rostransmodernizatsiya is currently building an access canal. We are preparing for the completion of the canal to enter the Bechevinskaya Bay and to start laying anchoring and mooring systems for the floating gas storage facility. They will number 20 heavy anchors taking into consideration seismic and tsunami conditions in Kamchatka. We are to lay anchors in the beginning of the next year, then a multifunctional ship which is nearing completion will be placed there. The ship will accommodate state authorities for ship traffic control,” he said.
According to the speaker, the floating gas storage facility is to be delivered to the bay in late May – early June 2023. “Ship-to-ship transshipment of gas in the Bechevinskaya Bay will begin in 2023. More active operation of the port will begin by the end of 2023. We expect the throughput to make 22 million tonnes. About 40 ships will call the port every month which is an intense traffic”, he emphasized.
According to earlier reports of IAA PortNews, the Federal Marine and River Transport Agency (Rosmorrechflot) expected higher rates of СССС operation to complete dredging works under the project by the beginning of July 2022.
Under the project in the Bechevinskaya Bay, СССС has dredged 15.4 million cbm of material of the planned 16.2 million cbm, IAA PortNews cited Zakhary Dzhioyev, Deputy Head of Rosmorrechflot, as saying at SPIEF. According to him, it makes 95% of the planned scope of works. Such rates of operation allow for completion of works by the end of June, according to earlier statements.
The works are foreseen by the federal project “Development of Sea Ports” under the Comprehensive Plan for Modernization and Expansion of Core Infrastructure (CPMI) until 2024.
Under the contract, China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC) will build an access canal of over 6 kilometers as well as facilities ensuring safety of navigation. The contract value is RUB 19.6 billion. The scope of dredging is estimated at 16.2 million cbm of material.
The main participants in the investment project to create the marine LNG transshipment complex in the Kamchatka Territory are Novatek and Rosmorport (in the part of the federal property facilities). The new terminal is expected to handle around 21.7 million tonnes of LNG annually.
The complex in the Bechevinskaya Bay is intended for transfer of LNG from ice-class LNG carriers sailing from the Gulf of Ob region to LNG carriers without ice reinforcement. The latter, in turn, will deliver gas to consumers in the Asia-Pacific region (APR). Part of the gas will go to meet the communal needs of the Kamchatka Territory.
NOVATEK is to build two LNG transshipment complexes at the eastern and western ends of the Arctic route (in the Murmansk and Kamchatka regions) with the aim to ensure efficient and cost-effective LNG transportation under the Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 2 projects. More than RUB 21 billion will reportedly be invested in the creation of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and offloading complex in the Bechevinskaya Bay.
