History
Back in September 2007, the State Program for Establishing a Unified System of Gas Production and Transportation and Gas Supply in Eastern Siberia and the Far East was established under the order of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Energy with account for potential gas exports to the markets of China and other countries in the Asia Pacific region (Eastern Gas Program). The Russian Federation Government instructed PJSC Gazprom to coordinate the activities related to the Program. The company formed an extensive resource base in the Russian East with new gas production centers which allowed to implement large-scale infrastructure projects.
In 2012, PJSC Gazprom made the investment decision with regard to field infrastructure development for the Chayanda (Yakutia) and Kovykta (the Irkutsk region) fields, Power of Siberia gas pipeline construction, as well as the construction of the Amur GPP in the Amur region.
In May 2014, PJSC Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation signed a sales and purchase agreement for gas to be supplied via the eastern route.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, PJSC Gazprom Management Committee Chairman Alexey Miller and President of China National Petroleum Corporation Zhou Jiping.
In May 2014, the order on implementation of PJSC Gazprom's investment projects was signed in order to supply gas to China and an integrated action plan was approved. The plan included development of the Yakutsk and Irkutsk gas production centers, construction of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline and the Amur Gas Processing Plant to extract valuable components (helium and ethane, in particular) from gas.
Developing gas resources and shaping gas transmission system in Eastern Russia.
On July 3, 2014, an entry was made in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities on establishment of Gazprom Pererabotka Blagoveshchensk LLC, the investor and owner of the Amur Gas Processing Plant construction project. Gazprom Pererabotka Blagoveshchensk LLC is a subsidiary of Gazprom Pererabotka LLC and member of Gazprom Group.
On October 14, 2015, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin launched the project, and the first “golden pile" was sunk during the ceremony.
On February 29, 2016, Gazprom Pererabotka Blagoveshchensk LLC was assigned with the role of the Amur Gas Processing Plant operator under the order of PJSC Gazprom.
On August 3, 2017, the first foundation of the Amur Gas Processing Plant was laid.
The event was attended by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and Chairman of the Management Committee of PJSC Gazprom Alexey Miller.
From 2015 to 2018, the site preparation was completed, infrastructure was prepared for full-scale construction: 27 km of access roads were commissioned, a temporary jetty on the Zeya river was built, temporary shift camps with all the infrastructure were built, a 17.5 km long railroad track from the Trans-Siberian railway to the plant site was built.
In December 2019, Gazprom and Gazprom Pererabotka Blagoveshchensk signed a deal to raise project financing totaling EUR 11.4 billion for the Amur GPP construction. The funds are provided by 22 European, Asian and Russian banks.
From 2018 to 2020, the key process facilities of the Amur GPP were built. As of January 2021, the four process lines of the Amur GPP were fully equipped with the key large-sized units.
In January 2021, large-scale commissioning began at start-up complex 1 (the first and second process lines, the first helium production and liquefaction unit). Highly skilled professionals of Gazprom processing enterprises from Astrakhan, Orenburg, Salavat, and Surgut were involved in commissioning of the Amur GPP: process unit operators, pump and compressor operators, operators of various gas processing fields, foremen and engineers, including in the field of energy and electronics, debugging and testing, automated process control systems, and instrumentation.
Employees of Gazprom subsidiaries, including Astrakhan, Orenburg, Salavat and Surgut processing companies.
On June 9, 2021, a solemn ceremony was held to launch the first process line of the Amur GPP with the participation of President Putin. Implementation of such a large-scale project in the field of processing is one-of-a-kind in the history of the Russian gas industry.
In September 2021, first of three helium production, liquefaction and loading units commenced their operation at the Amur GPP. Its capacity is 20 million cubic meters of helium per year. Shipment of helium from the Amur GPP to the world's largest Vladivostok Logistics Centre of Servicing Helium Containers (hub) for transporting liquid helium to the world market commenced.
First of three helium production, liquefaction and loading units at Amur GPP starts operation.
Phased start-up of the remaining lines of the Amur GPP is aligned with development of PJSC Gazprom's capacities in Yakutia and the Irkutsk region. The project involves around 1,000 equipment vendors and over 500 contractors. More than 35 thousand construction workers were involved at the Amur GPP site at peak times.
Overall progress for the gas processing plant construction by late 2022 exceeded 87%.
Enlarged photo (JPG, 3 MB)