Gazprom, Mitsui to Cooperate in LNG Bunkering Studies

Gazprom Russias energy giant Gazprom and Japans Mitsui & Co. (Mitsui) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in feasibility and marketing studies with regard to the bunkering of marine vessels with liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Russias Far East and the Asia-Pacific region on September 2, 2016, in Vladivostok.  Gazprom and Mitsui, which is focused on the development, marketing, distribution and treatment of energy products in Japan and overseas, as well as on financial activities, discussed the ongoing and future cooperation, focusing, among other things, on LNG production within the Sakhalin II project and on the increase of its output with the construction of the third production train of the LNG plant. Gazprom and Mitsui have successfully cooperated on the Sakhalin II project. Now we have an excellent opportunity to partner in a new business area – small-scale LNG, Alexey Miller,  Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, said. Russias only LNG plant is operating under the Sakhalin II project. The project operator is Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd., with the ownership distributed among Gazprom, Shell, Mitsui and Mitsuibishi. On June 18, 2015, Gazprom and Shell signed a memorandum on implementing the construction project for the third production train of the LNG plant. In 2015, the plant produced 10.8 million tons of LNG, exceeding the design capacity by 1.2 million tons.