Gas consumption for gas chemistry in Russia to reach 20 bcm per year by 2050, 10 new projects planned - Russian deputy PM
MOSCOW. May 12 (Interfax) - The increase in gas demand from gas chemistry projects in Russia will reach around 20 billion cubic meters by 2050, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in a column in the Energy Policy magazine.
According to the Energy Strategy until 2050, domestic gas consumption under the target scenario will grow by 93 bcm (+19% compared to 2023 levels) by 2036 and to 669 bcm by 2050 (35% from 2023 levels), he said. This growth will be facilitated, among other things, by further gas infrastructure development of the country's regions, including additional gas infrastructure development and economically efficient gas infrastructure development in Siberia, the Far East and the Arctic.
"To develop the processing sector, where domestic gas chemistry technologies are actively advancing, it is proposed that a resource base for gas chemistry projects be allocated. By 2050, the creation of about 10 new gas chemical production facilities is planned. The increase in demand from gas chemistry projects will amount to about 20 bcm," Novak said.
It is also expected that growth in gas consumption will be supported by the expanded use of natural gas motor fuel, for which infrastructure development is planned, along with the preservation of economic and administrative incentives for consumers to switch to alternative types of transport. The share of transport powered by natural gas motor fuel will exceed 10% by 2050, and the number of natural gas motor fuel infrastructure facilities will surpass 3,000 units across the country, he said.
"To achieve these goals, further development of the vast gas resource base is required (its reserves amount to 63.4 trillion cubic meters) as well as maintaining production levels in regions with developed infrastructure. This will require tax incentives for new investments in the extraction of hard-to-recover [HRR] reserves, the development of a program to stimulate geological exploration and the localization of high-tech drilling equipment production. This will make it possible to bring over 5 trillion cubic meters of untapped reserves into production with annual output exceeding 50 billion cubic meters, including HRR category reserves in the Arctic and on the continental shelf. As a result, gas production in the country will reach approximately 1 trillion cubic meters by 2050," he said.
Russia intends to develop its trunk pipeline infrastructure, including the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, the connection of Power of Siberia 1 with Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok, as well as a unified gas supply system with trunk lines in the eastern part of the country and the acceleration of deliveries via the Far Eastern route.
"The plans include the development of domestic technologies for seamless pipes and large-diameter pipes, as well as cooperation with friendly countries for the joint development of gas infrastructure and the signing of long-term contracts, along with the formation of swap deliveries with partners. This will allow pipeline gas exports to grow to 197 billion cubic meters by 2036, maintaining production volumes and revenues to the federal budget. By 2050, Russia will become the number 1 exporter to gas markets in Asia," he said.
Russia intends to increase LNG production in the medium term to 100 million tonnes and enter the top three suppliers in the LNG market. "Achieving this goal will be supported by the development of domestic LNG services and technologies, expansion of the LNG tanker fleet and the creation of specialized hubs for transshipment, storage, and trading of LNG. Advanced engineering in the petrochemical and LNG sectors will ensure not only import substitution but also technology exports in these areas, and includes expansion of gas infrastructure development and economically efficient gas infrastructure development of the Siberian, Far Eastern and Arctic regions," he said.
