Petrofac Revamp Only for Existing Sakhalin LNG Plant

Petrofac, the contractor this week chosen by Sakhalin Energy to revamp its onshore gas process facility (OPF), says the revamp is not designed for a planned expansion of the LNG complex on Russia's Sakhalin island in the Pacific.

Shell said it June that the front-end engineering (Feed) stage of project preparation for a possible third LNG train at Sakhalin there was “nearly completed” but indicated no financial commitment had yet been given to build it.

NGW asked Petrofac this week whether the OPF -- once Petrofac has fulfilled its scope of work – would be able to process gas sufficient for three trains.

“The OPF will maintain production for two trains, not three,” a spokesperson for Petrofac replied September 7.

The existing Sakhalin LNG complex produced more than 10.9mn mt in 2016, exceeding the nameplate capacity of the two-train facility by over 1.3mn mt. Petrofac’s contract, announced September 6 and worth $700mn, was awarded by Gazprom-controlled Sakhalin Energy. 

Mark Smedley