On March 7 RF Vice Premier Alexandr Novak held a meeting to discuss LNG production in Russia with officials from the RF Ministry of industry and trade, the RF Ministry of energy, representatives of the leading companies that develop LNG projects including Gazprom, Novatek, Rosneft, and Rosatom, and researchers.
“Developing LNG production is a strategic task and a future for our gas export, it is to reach no less than 100 million tons per annum. At present, the project already in operation produce some 33 million tons. Taking into account the projects under construction, the plants in Ust-Luga and Arctic LNG 2, Russia will produce 66 million tons of LNG a year. We should find a resource base for projects to produce another 34 million tons of LNG annually, organize comprehensive cooperation between the authorities and companies, provide for the localization of large- and medium-tonnage equipment manufacturing for the LNG industry, and work out measures for reducing administrative barriers,” the RF Government press office quotes Novak as saying.
The Ministry of energy is to develop with a support from the Ministry of industry and trade a road map for the project with Russian-developed technologies to provide for 80% of the sector’s needs, to monitor the possibilities and risks for Russian LNG producers taking into account the global demand, to consolidate the companies’ plans to develop, build and acquire equipment and technologies and to organize serial manufacturing of such equipment.
According to Vladimir Litvinenko, Rector of the St. Petersburg Mining University, the main problem for the LNG sector is a deficit of professionals, with demand in this labour market segment exceeding the supply by far.