Sakhalin–Khabarovsk–Vladivostok pipeline

CC – Author: Shigeru23

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The Sakhalin–Khabarovsk–Vladivostok pipeline is a natural gas pipeline in Russia, transporting Sakhalin’s gas to the most populated and industrialized regions of the Russian Far East (Khabarovsk Krai and Primorsky Krai). It is also projected to become a part of an international export route, carrying Russian gas to East Asian countries, such as the People’s Republic of China, South Korea and Japan. The pipeline is owned and operated by Gazprom. It was opened on 8 September 2011.

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History

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The project was announced in September 2007, when the Russian Federation’s Industry and Energy Ministry approved the gas Development Program for Eastern Siberia and the Far East. It was aimed at reducing utility prices in the Russian Far East by replacing more expensive coal and petroleum at the regional power and heating plants with cheaper natural gas.

The pipeline project was approved by Gazprom’s board of directors on 23 July 2008. At the same meeting, Gazprom’s board of directors agreed to purchase the Komsomolsk–Khabarovsk pipeline, commissioned in November 2006 by Daltransgaz, a former subsidiary of Rosneft. Design and exploration work was completed in November 2008 and working documentation was prepared by April 2009.

Construction began on 31 July 2009 in Khabarovsk with a ceremony, which was attended by the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The pipeline was opened on 8 September 2011. The opening ceremony on Russky Island was again attended by Prime Minister Putin.

The first gas consumer in the Primorsky Krai was Vladivostok Combined Heat and Power Plant 2 (CHPP-2), tasked with converting from coal to natural gas. In early 2012, CHPP-1 and the heating plant in Severnaya will be converted to natural gas.

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Route

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The 1,822-kilometre (1,132 mi) Sakhalin–Khabarovsk–Vladivostok gas transport system consists of three sections. The Khabarovsk–Vladivostok section together with the first phase of the Sakhalin–Komsomolsk section, which supplies gas from the Gazprom’s Far East northern part’s gas fields, will create a 1,350-kilometre (840 mi) pipeline system. The third section – the 472-kilometre (293 mi) Komsomolsk–Habarovsk pipeline, commissioned in 2006- would then be connected to the proposed Yakutia–Khabarovsk–Vladivostok pipeline.

In Primorsky Krai, the pipeline will feed a planned LNG plant, producing liquefied natural gas for export to Japan, and a proposed petrochemical complex. There are also plans to supply gas from Vladivostok to Japan and South Korea by subsea pipelines.[10] An alternative route to South Korea would be via an overland pipeline through North Korea. According to Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, this proposed pipeline would help strengthen security in East Asia by meeting North Korea’s energy needs and providing it with transit revenue. The project was also discussed during the visit of Kim Jong Il to Russia in August 2011.

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Technical description

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The capacity of the pipeline is 6 billion cubic metres (210 billion cubic feet) of natural gas per year during the first stage, rising to 30 billion cubic metres (1.1 trillion cubic feet) by 2020, of which 8 billion cubic metres (280 billion cubic feet) would be supplied from Sakhalin.[2][8][14][15] It is expected to cost US$21–24 billion.

The diameter of the Sakhalin–Komsomolsk and Khabarovsk–Vladivostok pipelines is 1,220 millimetres (48 in), with a working pressure of 100 standard atmospheres (10 MPa). The diameter of the Komsomolsk–Khabarovsk pipeline is 700 millimetres (28 in).

In addition to the three pipelines, the Sakhalin–Khabarovsk–Vladivostok system consists of the Sakhalin main compressor station, a gas distribution station in Vladivostok, a power supply, telemechanics, communications systems and access roads.

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Supply source

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The pipeline is fed from the Sakhalin-III project with additional gas provided from the Sakhalin-II project. The main supply source is the Gazprom-owned Kirinskoye field.

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Owner

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The pipeline project was developed by Gazprom Invest Vostok, a subsidiary of Gazprom. The pipeline is operated by Gazprom.

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Source: Wikipedia

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follow-up, 30.04.2014

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Japan looks afresh at Russian pipeline gas
Hideo Ogawa, president of Japan Pipeline Development & Operation, spoke to Interfax about the company‘s plans to build a 20 billion cubic metre per year pipeline between Japan and Russia and its possible impact on the global LNG market.

Interfax:
Can you update us on the status of the project?

Hideo Ogawa:
The maximum capacity of the pipeline will be 20 bcm/y and the estimated maximum cost will be ¥600 billion [$5.87 billion]. We hope to take an FID in the fiscal year 2014 [the fiscal year in Japan runs from April to March]. There will also be a full development survey and preparation for construction in fiscal 2014. Construction work would then run from fiscal 2015 to 2019.
In reality, there are no remaining hurdles to the project. The domestic barriers can be overcome and full cooperation from the Russian side would mean the project could be implemented immediately. The Japanese government has given its support to it as a private undertaking.

Q: How will the project be financed and has this already been secured?

A: The project will be 20% financed by Japanese and overseas loan and investment institutions, 40% by borrowing from Japanese government-based financial institutions, and 40% by borrowing from Japanese and overseas private financial institutions.
The project will have sufficient finances as its profit margin will maintain high stability for long-term operations.

Q: What impact do you think the pipeline will have on the East Asian gas and LNG market?

A: The delivered-at-frontier (DAF) price of pipeline gas to Japan is based on that of pipeline gas to Europe and Asia. It is very competitive because the price is much cheaper than the LNG Japan buys from overseas.
Therefore, it will depress prices in LNG contracts in the East Asian market, as well as accelerating the review of the LNG pricing system and the oil-link predominant in Asian contracts.
But it is unlikely to erode the competitiveness of Russian gas. Since Russia is the closest among the gas producing regions to the East Asian market, Russian LNG is still expected to be comparatively cheap. Gas via pipeline from Russia to Japan is also more competitive than LNG from US shale gas.

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interfax

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Anmerkung

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„Gas via pipeline from Russia to Japan is also more competitive than LNG from US shale gas.“
Ein besonders wichtiger Aspekt, den insbesondere europäische Akteure, die auf amerikanische und kanadische Flüssiggas-Exporte setzen, bei ihren vermeintlichen Gas-Alternativen zwingend beachten sollten.

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