Exxon Neftegas: FEED for Far Eastern LNG may begin in 2019

MOSCOW, Mar 20 (PRIME) -- A decision to begin preparation of front-end engineering (FEED) and design for the Far Eastern LNG (liquefied natural gas) facility may be made already in 2019, Vice President of Exxon Neftegas Limited, the operator of the Sakhalin-1 project, Alexander Popov told reporters on Wednesday.

Popov also said that negotiations on LNG sales to Sakhalin Energy, the operator of the Sakhalin-2 project, continue.

“Negotiations are underway, but now the Far Eastern LNG is the core option (for Sakhalin-1’s gas)… A decision on FEED preparation may be made this year… It usually takes five to seven years from the FEED stage to the launch of a facility,” he said.

“The plant will be constructed by the consortium, and all the members will, of course, invest in it,” he added.

Sakhalin-1 develops the Chaivo, Odoptu and Arkutun-Dagi fields on the Sakhalin Island’s shelf with total estimated resources standing at 307 million tonnes of oil and 485 billion cubic meters of gas. U.S. ExxonMobil and Japan’s Sodeco own 30% in the project each, while Rosneft and India’ ONGC own 20% each.

Sakhalin-2 is Russia’s first LNG-producing facility. Its operator Sakhalin Energy is owned by Gazprom with 50% plus one share, Shell with 27.5% minus one share, Mitsui & Co. Ltd with 12.5% and Mitsubishi Corporation with 10%.

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