The Power of Siberia is a new gas pipeline, the main purpose of which is to supply domestic blue fuel to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. The design throughput of this highway is 38 billion cubic meters per year. One of the most important facilities of this gas pipeline is the Amur Gas Processing Plant. After completion of construction, this enterprise will become the largest blue fuel processing plant in Russia. It will supply helium, propane, butane and other similar products to the market.
Why do we need a new gas processing plant?
The Power of Siberia - the largest gas pipeline of our time - after the construction is completed, will provide Russia with diversification of export of raw materials. In addition, this important facility, according to available forecasts, will have a very serious impact on the development of the economy of Eastern Siberia and will allow our country to take a leading position in the world in the production of helium. Well, and, of course, the new gas pipeline will be a good occasion to strengthen friendly relations between Russia and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
The project of the Amur gas processing plant was developed in such a way that in the end this enterprise became the largest complex in Russia and the world specifically for the production of helium. Initially, the “Power of Siberia” highway will receive ordinary multicomponent gas here. Further, already at the GPP itself, butane, propane, a pentane-hexane fraction, ethane and, of course, helium will be extracted from it. According to the plans of the gas pipeline project developers, it is planned to sell these components primarily to China. This country, by the way, is Russia's partner in the construction of the Power of Siberia highway. The assembly of the gas pipeline receiving line in China has already begun.
Helium as the main specialization of the plant
Thus, helium will become the main product to be produced at the Amur GPP. The main feature of this gas is absolute chemical inertness. Therefore, helium is often used in industry to create non-aggressive neutral atmospheres. Such environments may be necessary, for example, when performing various kinds of welding operations, metallurgical melting, etc. Also, this gas is often used as an indicator of leaks in nuclear reactors and in the manufacture of rocketry.
Another promising area of application of helium is electronics. For example, it is expected that soon mass production of next-generation hard drives filled with these gases will begin. Such hard drives will have a capacity twice as large as existing today. Helium is used, among other things, in the latest modern medical and research equipment.
The cost of this gas in the world market is about $ 85 per 1 cubic foot. In fact, the very reserves of helium in the world are limited. The largest deposits of this gas are currently located in the United States. However, they, unfortunately, are almost completely developed. That is why, apparently, the Russian government is betting on Siberian helium and the possibility of its production at the Amur Gas Processing Plant.
Other processed products
In addition to helium, it is planned to receive, of course, other gases at the future gas processing plant. And methane, and propane, and butane, allocated at the enterprise, will also subsequently be delivered mainly to China. At the same time, part of ethane gas is supposed to be used at the large chemical complex being built near the Amur GPP SIBUR. This enterprise will produce high-quality modern polyethylene from the ethane obtained from the GPZ.
Project Features
The construction site of this GPP, as can already be judged by its name, is the Amur Region of Russia. The construction of the production capacities of this new gas processing enterprise began in 2015 near the city of Svobodny, not far from the Zeya riverbed .
The largest gas company in Russia, Gazprom, is investing in the construction of the Amur Gas Processing Plant. It is assumed that the construction of this important large-scale facility for the country will be completed in 2019.
The general contractor for the construction of the Amur GPP is NIPIGAZ. Also, the Chinese enterprise CPESS and the large German corporation Linde Group take part in the construction of this plant. It is these three companies that conduct the main work at the construction site.
In total, the construction of the GPP in the Amur Region at the end of 2017 employed about 29 contracting and 61 subcontracting organizations, as well as more than 250 suppliers. Companies of various specializations from 11 regions of the Russian Federation, as well as some foreign companies, were involved in the implementation of this project.
Equipment for the future Amur Gas Processing Plant will be purchased in Germany. Supposedly, Linde AG will supply it. In any case, this company received the right to be the licensor of the enterprise in October 2015.
Power
According to the project, after the construction is completed, the plant will have as many as 6 production lines. The total area of the Amur Gas Processing Plant will be 800 ha. It is also assumed that the plant will produce annually:
helium - 60 million cubic meters;
propane - 1 million tons;
ethane - 2.5 million tons;
butane - 500 thousand tons;
pentane-hexane fraction - 200 thousand tons
After the launch, the total design capacity of the enterprise will be 42 billion m 3 of natural gas per year. Which of course is very, very much.
Construction progress
By November 2017, roads have been laid on the site of the future Amur Gas Processing Plant, along which construction materials will be transported. The contractor tried to make them as reliable as possible. Most roads for the future gas processing plant are poured with three layers of asphalt. It is not difficult to withstand the load of even the heaviest equipment.
The construction of the foundation of the plant itself was solemnly launched in August 2017. Putin himself personally gave the command for the first concrete pouring into the formwork. The president also led the ceremony of starting the construction of the enterprise in 2015. True, then he did it by video link.
In addition to roads, communications are currently being assembled at the plant’s construction site, and river and rail infrastructure are being organized. For example, a modern, reliable pier was built on Zee, among other things. Also, not far from the future enterprise, preparatory work is underway for the construction of a residential neighborhood.
Future staff
It is estimated that about 3,000 people will work at the Amur Gas Processing Plant after its commissioning. Of course, the plant will need in the future highly qualified specialists of various professions. And training for this modern enterprise has begun today. Especially for this purpose, Gazprom entered into an agreement with the Ministry of Education and Science. Specialists are trained for the new plant in several educational institutions, including higher ones.
Reviews of construction workers
Since the beginning of the implementation of this large-scale project, more than 770 residents of the cities and villages of the Amur Region have been involved in it. Judging by the reviews of the workers, the conditions at the construction site for them are quite tolerable. Salaries to people participating in the implementation of the project, in any case, are paid decent.
Specialists work in the construction of the Amur GPP, as in most other similar facilities, mainly on a rotational basis. It's no secret that contractors with this method of organizing labor often deceive their employees. For example, unscrupulous companies may not pay salaries to people or delay them, may not give them special clothing, or offer poor food in the dining room. According to the governor of the region A. Kozlov, there is no such disorder at the construction of the Amur Gas Processing Plant. The leadership of the region constantly ensures that subcontractors and contractors pay wages to workers at this facility on time and create good working conditions for staff.
It is assumed that at the peak of the plant’s construction more than 20 thousand specialists from different regions of Russia and other countries will be attracted here.
After the end of its construction, the enterprise itself will work, of course, mainly residents of the Amur Region. But the plant will still have to invite highly qualified foreign specialists. The fact is that the company will, among other things, use very sophisticated modern imported equipment. As a rule, only specialists from the state from which they were delivered can work on such lines according to the rules (at least initially).
Hot line
Of course, this enterprise will bring enormous benefits to the economy of the Amur Region. However, in the process of construction itself, such a large-scale and crowded object, of course, can cause some discomfort to the local population. In particular, this concerns residents of the city of Svobodny, located next to the GPP, in the Amur Region and some of the surrounding villages of the Svobodnensky District. In order to minimize this discomfort, the construction management organized, among other things, a hotline. Thanks to this, now local residents can report any problems that arise in connection with the construction of the plant.
Ecological situation
Of course, the work of the new plant will have a serious impact, including on the environment of the region. What exactly will this impact be, environmentalists began to find out back in 2015. In their opinion, his work will not cause any global harm to the environment of the Amur Region and the territories adjacent directly to the enterprise.
Monitoring for compliance with the Amur Gas Processing Plant being built by Gazprom with environmental standards was also conducted in the spring of 2016. Then, the experts did not find any particularly serious violations on the territory of the future plant. Judging by the reports, no harmful substances were found in the air in the vicinity of the construction site and on it itself. Checked by environmentalists and land near the future plant. Landfills, traces of oil spills, etc. they were also not found here.
Instead of a conclusion
The completion of the construction of the gas processing plant near Svobodny and its commissioning, of course, will have a positive impact on the economy of not only the Amur Region, but also the whole country. Russia will be able to earn considerable money by selling gas to Asia. Residents of the districts of the Amur Region adjacent to the enterprise will receive additional jobs and housing in the new microdistrict. So the Amur Gas Processing Plant is really a very important and significant enterprise. And therefore, we hope that its construction will not be delayed and will be put into operation as scheduled.