Russian Gas Producers Make More From Petchems

Petrochemicals are becoming a core focus for Russia's gas industry, as operators seek to maximise value from their production, an expert has said.

The Russian petrochemical industry is growing at a rate of 7% per year, compared with 5-6% typical in other countries, according to Alexei Kontorovich, director of Trofimuk Institute of Oil and Gas Geology and Geophysics at the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Petrochemical products have also become as valuable as refined petroleum fuels, he said in a presentation at the St Petersburg International Gas Forum on October 1.

Kontorovich said failure to make use of by-products of gas processing was akin to "burning millions of dollars."

Russian oil and gas producers are advancing new petrochemical projects across Russia, aiming to capitalise on the sector's projected rapid demand growth. One of the largest upcoming projects is Sibur's ZapSibNefteKhim, a $9.5bn plant due to start up in early 2020 in west Siberia. Like most of Russia's planned petrochemical complexes, ZapSibNefteKhim will run on ethane feedstock, a by-product of gas condensate processing.

"We are coming across increasingly complex fields, and it is important to improve technologies and the transportation system for gas production in order to utilise resources to the maximum and minimise losses," Kontorovich said.

Kontorovich drew attention to the Chayandinskoye field in east Siberia as an example of a difficult project. Chayandinskoye is one of two fields that will provide gas supplies to China via the Power of Siberia pipelines starting this December. "This is a complicated field very rich in helium – this creates both challenges and opportunities," he said. Gazprom is to ship the helium to a specialised plant in Belogorsk in the Amur region.