Murmansk LNG: What are the prospects for the new gas liquefaction plant

Alexey Belogoryev, Research and Development Director of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented on the Murmansk LNG project to the Oil and Gas Information Agency (Tyumen Region).

"The main advantage of Murmansk LNG is that it does not need ice-class gas carriers in order to ensure year-round shipments of LNG. And this is the most acute problem that Arctic LNG 2 and all planned new Arctic plants have faced in the last two years. In addition, Murmansk LNG does not require the use of high-power gas turbines technologically, and their import substitution is developing much more slowly than we would like. Finally, it makes economic sense to produce LNG not based on an isolated resource base, as is the case with Yamal LNG or Arctic LNG 2, but by taking gas from the Unified Gas Supply System (UGS), i.e. from the common "boiler" of Russian gas production. On the one hand, the cost of such gas will be higher due to additional transportation costs, on the other, Murmansk LNG can help balance supply and demand in the UGS area. However, this is relevant only in conditions when there is an oversupply in the zone, as it is now, and whether it will remain by the early 2030s, when the plant can start working, is a debatable question," Alexey Belogoryev said.