Gazprom Neft, Russian Railways, Gazpromtrans and Gazprom Invest have signed a Cooperation Agreement on transporting liquid hydrocarbons from major fields in Yamal. The document signed by Alexander Dyukov, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board, Gazprom Neft, Oleg Belozerov, CEO, Russian Railways, Maxim Mironenko, CEO, Gazpromtrans, and Vyacheslav Tyurin, Director General, Gazprom Invest at the 2021 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum provides for transporting liquid hydrocarbons from Gazprom’s Kharasaveyskoye and Bovanenkovskoye fields.
According to Gazprom Neft, the Agreement runs to 2040 and confirms the companies’ intention to develop a logistics strategy for transporting stable gas condensate and liquefied hydrocarbon gases by the world’s northernmost railway line, the Obskaya — Bovanenkovo — Karskaya and, from there, to the port of Ust-Luga in the Gulf of Finland in Northwest Russia.
Shipments are expected to start in 2025 following commercial production of Neocomian-Jurassic deposits starting at the Kharasavey and Bovanenkovo fields under development by Gazprom Neft through long-term risk-operatorship agreements with Gazprom. More than 52 mn tons of hydrocarbons are expected to be transported from these fields by rail between 2025 and 2040.
Gazpromtrans will be responsible for receiving stable gas condensate and liquefied hydrocarbon gases at the Karskaya station, and transporting these across the Yamal Peninsula to the Obskaya station on the Northern Railway. To that end, Gazprom Invest is committed to ensuring the Obskaya — Karskaya railway line is upgraded to the standard necessary to facilitate the transportation of stable gas condensate and liquefied hydrocarbon gases, and their successful delivery to Russian Railways.
Russian Railways will take hydrocarbons on board at the Obskaya station and transport these to the Luzhskaya station on the Oktyabrskaya Railway, serving the port of Ust-Luga in the Baltic. Russian Railways will be developing railway infrastructure along the planned transportation route as well as fine-tuning transportation technologies to cut railcar turnaround times.
A logistics roadmap for this project is expected to be in place by 1 September 2021.
“Developing Neocomian-Jurassic deposits at the Bovanenkovskoye and Kharasaveyskoye fields is going to be one of the company’s flagship projects over the next few years. These projects are being developed under long-term risk-operatorship agreements with Gazprom. On projects of this size and complexity — and given the location of these fields in the north of the Yamal Peninsula — finding the best way to transport liquid hydrocarbons is of critical importance. I have every confidence that we will be able to deliver an effective logistics strategy together with Russian Railways, Gazpromtrans and Gazprom Invest — and that our collaboration will promote the immediate development of railway infrastructure in several regions throughout the country,” Alexander Dyukov commented.