Gazprom plans to order four floating nuclear power plants from Rosatom to supply energy to projects along the Northern Sea Route
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According to Kommersant, Gazprom is discussing with Rosatom the possibility of building four floating nuclear power plants with a total capacity of 400 MW to supply energy to the fields of the Tambey cluster in Yamal. The order for power units is also being considered by LUKOIL. The total potential demand for floating nuclear power plants for industrial projects along the Northern Sea Route, according to Rosatom, is at least 15 power units. Nuclear generation, according to analysts, is necessary for energy-intensive industries, such as LNG plants, in an environment where the construction of thermal power plants on imported gas turbines is no longer available.
Gazprom may order four floating nuclear power units (FPU) with a capacity of 106 MW each from Rosatom to supply energy to the fields of the Tambey cluster in Yamal, several sources familiar with the negotiations told Kommersant. Companies can sign framework agreements before the end of the year, one of them noted. Another interlocutor of Kommersant clarified that Gazprom is considering the possibility of using small nuclear power plants in other projects, the total needs of the company may double.
Energy supply projects for the Tambey cluster from FPUs are “highly developed,” Vladimir Panov, deputy head of the state commission for the Arctic, told Interfax on the sidelines of SPIEF. Vyacheslav Ruksha, deputy director general of Rosatom, head of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) directorate, told PortNews that the construction of a nuclear power plant is being discussed with a number of customers, but “so far, nothing has really been signed.” Gazprom declined to comment.
It is assumed that three 320 MW PEUs will operate in the base load, and the fourth unit will be required for the time when one of the three base units will go to refuel.
The design level of production at the fields of the Tambey cluster is estimated at 55 billion cubic meters of gas, said Sergey Kondratiev from the Institute of Energy and Finance. PEBs will allow the project to be developed autonomously, without the construction of its own gas-fired thermal power plants. At the company’s largest gas production divisions, such as Gazprom dobycha Urengoy and Gazprom dobycha Noyabrsk, he notes, the maximum power consumption is about 300 MW with significantly higher production volumes.
A large amount of basic generation could be needed to supply the LNG plant: Gazprom allowed the liquefaction of gas from the Tambey cluster, but the basic concept was to send it to the Unified Gas Supply System.
In March, Maxim Kulinko, deputy head of the NSR Directorate, said that it was technologically more profitable for Gazprom to work with Rosatom on promising projects, and “not build its own gas turbines, and use nuclear technology to get electricity that is quite cheap by northern standards.” One of Kommersant’s interlocutors in the expert community notes that the real cost of supply from FPUs is still very high. The target cost of generating PEBs was $110 per MWh, but according to analyst estimates, the real price is unlikely to be less than $200. However, since imported high-capacity gas turbines are no longer available in the Russian Federation, the option of nuclear generation may turn out to be more promising.
So far, Rosatom has an order for four 420 MW power units to supply power to the Baimsky GOK in Chukotka. In 2021, the cost of FPUs was estimated at 190.2 billion rubles. (VAT included). Rosatom said that the price of energy supply for the enterprise would be 6.45 rubles. per 1 kWh (in 2020 prices) with annual inflation indexation.
In addition to Gazprom, LUKOIL is thinking about building two small nuclear power plants, Kommersant sources say. On June 15, Rosatom and LUKOIL planned to conclude a memorandum of cooperation in the development of FPU projects, but the signing did not take place. The companies declined to comment.
The head of Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, said at the SPIEF that the potential demand for PEBs in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation will be at least 15 pieces. The customers will be industrial enterprises for power supply of projects along the Northern Sea Route.
LUKOIL’s main gas producing asset is Yamalneftegaz (part of LUKOIL-Western Siberia), which is developing fields in the area of the Bolshekhetskaya depression. Gas from Yamalneftegaz is delivered to the Gazprom system and is also used for its own generation with a capacity of 76.1 MW. Kommersant’s source in the industry suggests that the expansion of generating capacity in partnership with Rosatom is probably connected with the idea of monetizing Yamalneftegaz’s gas in the form of LNG or gas chemistry. Although LUKOIL currently does not have the right to export LNG, the liberalization of legislation is already being actively discussed.
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