Economics

00:55, 03.04.2008 | Primorye Territory

Russian energy giant Gazprom plans to supply about 90 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually to world markets by 2030, a senior company official said on Tuesday.

Gazprom, the world's largest gas producer, will add some 90 million tonnes of the super-cooled fuel to its production by 2030, Gazprom's deputy head Valery Golubev told reporters at an energy forum in Moscow.

Gazprom already supplies a quarter of Europe's gas needs via major pipelines but has no LNG production of its own.

It will get the first volumes next year when it launches its Sakhalin-2 project together with Royal Dutch Shell and Japanese firms. The project in the Pacific waters will ultimately produce 9.6 million tonnes, entitling Gazprom to 4.8 million tonnes of LNG per year.

The Sakhalin II project, in which Gazprom holds a controlling stake, has estimated reserves of 150 million metric tons (1.1 billion barrels) of oil and 500 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

It also wants to launch its landmark Shtokman Barents Sea field in 2013 with first LNG production expected at a few million tonnes.

The development of Shtokman is expected to take four phases and over $40 billion which should ultimately produce 30-40 million tonnes of LNG a year.

Gazprom has a 51% stake in the project, while France's Total and Norway's StatoilHydro have 25% and 24%, respectively.