PAO NOVATEK has announced that a ceremony was recently held in Magnitogorsk, in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Yury Borisov, to launch the first small scale, 40 000 tpy capacity, LNG plant in the Chelyabinsk region.
NOVATEK-Chelyabinsk, a wholly owned subsidiary, has commenced pilot LNG production at the plant. The main technological equipment for the facility was supplied by JSC NPO GELIYMASH, one of the leading manufacturers in Russia specialising in cryogenic technologies.
The LNG produced at the plant will be sold primarily as natural gas motor fuel, which represents the downstream market being actively developed by NOVATEK. Indeed, the company is set to supply LNG to its branded refuelling complexes for passenger, cargo transport, and mining equipment in the Chelyabinsk Region and neighbouring areas.
“The use of LNG as a motor fuel is strongly supported by NOVATEK,” noted Leonid Mikhelson, NOVATEK’s Chairman of the Management Board. “This represents a promising market segment that we are actively developing both in Russia and abroad. The use of liquefied natural gas as a motor fuel can significantly reduce emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere that is important to protect the environment, as well as to reduce the fuel costs for transportation.”