Irkutsk Oil Company plans an LNG plant by 2018

In the recent Interdepartmental Commission for Protection of the Baikal, taking place on July 25, 2014, Irkutsk Oil Company announced its plans to build an LNG plant capable of producing up to 84,000 tons of LNG annually. INK aims to complete the foundry by 2018.

The plant itself will begin operations near the city of Ust’-Kut in Q4 2017. Moreover, the plan is to supply LNG to the East Siberian regions, specifically Zabaikalsk municipality. It is fair to note, that the Irkutsk region has closed the agreement for the further development of the sector with the latter.

The project calls for the building of the gas liquefying unit as an integral part of the large gas chemical plant. Furthermore, the construction site will be at located on the Tolstiy cape (within the city limits of Ust-Kut) and a short distance away from the railroad terminal. Proximity to the railroad is the key for the decreasing costs of LNG transportation - the conveyance process is very expensive. Incidentally, the LNG railroad containers will be most likely purchased from domestic producers.

Most of the annual LNG production, which measures at about 60 thousand tons, is expected to be supplied to the  city of Baikalsk, located at the southern coast of Lake Baikal. In addition, substituting LNG instead of coal for heating and electricity production will decrease emissions.

Irkutsk Oil’s LNG project was approved by federal and local authorities. Moreover, government support is crucial to the construction of the gas transportation infrastructure as it is essential to modernize the city’s heating and transportation systems to adapt to the benefits of LNG.