The Linde Group has been selected by Gazprom, Gazprom Pererabotka Blagoveshchensk, and its general contractor NIPIgas as the licenser for cryogenic gas separation technology at the Amur Gas Processing Plant (Amur GPP) in the far east of Russia. Linde will engineer and supply units for ethane and natural gas liquids (NGL) extraction and nitrogen rejection, as well as for helium purification, liquefaction, and storage.
The plant is part of Gazprom’s project for the supply of Russian gas to China via the ‘Power of Siberia’ pipeline from eastern Siberian gas fields. It will be built in five phases ending in 2024.
Phase one will consist of two ethane and NGL (propane, butane, pentane, hexane) extraction and nitrogen rejection units, as well as one helium production unit. Related engineering works are in progress. When completed, the Amur GPP will be one of the largest gas processing plants in the world with a capacity of up to 49 billion m3 of natural gas per year.
Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom, and Dr. Wolfgang Büchele, Chief Executive Officer of Linde AG, also recently signed a strategic cooperation agreement stipulating the intention to cooperate and jointly carry out existing and future projects related to the natural gas value chain.
The cooperation agreement covers process technologies, engineering, and services related to the treatment and liquefaction of natural gas, as well as localization of the respective equipment production in Russia. Furthermore, it addresses the field of helium production, including the investment in, production and operation of helium plants.
