Sakhalin Energy, the operator of the Sakhalin-2 project, has loaded the first carbon-neutral/offset liquefied natural gas cargo from the Prigorodnoye production complex. It will be delivered to the Japanese company Toho Gas on board the gas tanker “Grand Aniva”.
“The first shipment of Russian “green” LNG offers unique opportunities for long-term direct supply of carbon-neutral/offset gas to the domestic market of the Asia-Pacific region. Considering that liquefied natural gas will remain an essential element of “green” energy for decades to come, this cargo is a key step towards the formation of an environmentally oriented portfolio of company’s gas products and further evidence of the fact that Sakhalin Energy is contributing to the achievement of global climate goals. At the Sakhalin Oil and Gas Far-Eastern Energy Forum, we agreed on cooperation for the first delivery of carbon-neutral/offset LNG cargo. Today we are ready to ship it to the Japanese buyer,” Roman Dashkov, Chief Executive Officer of Sakhalin Energy, said.
According to him, offsetting the carbon footprint from the entire LNG chain from production to final usage by end-users allows making this energy resource even more in demand in countries that are consistently working on solving the decarbonisation problem.
Japan, being one of them, is one of the essential buyers of the Sakhalin LNG. In 2020, the largest volume of LNG, 51.6 %, was shipped to that country from the port of Prigorodnoye. The delivery of the first carbon-neutral/offset cargo is scheduled for mid-October.
The “Grand Aniva” gas tanker assigned for the delivery was chartered by Sakhalin Energy from Sovcomflot for year-round supply from the LNG plant to Asia Pacific countries. Earlier, at the 24th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the companies signed long-term time-charter agreements for two oil tankers capable of using LNG as their primary fuel. The use of “green” vessels under the Sakhalin-2 project is expected to contribute to preserving the ecology of the Far East Sea Basin, continuing Sakhalin Energy’s long-term strategy towards decarbonisation.