MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/. Gazprom and Japan’s Itochu Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding for the Baltic LNG project, the Russian company said in a statement.
The document was signed at a working meeting between the chairman of the board of the holding Alexei Miller and the president and chief executive officer of the Japanese corporation Yoshihisa Suzuki, the Russian gas holding said.
"The document confirms the interest of the parties to the potential cooperation within the framework of the project," according to the statement.
Baltic LNG project of Gazprom envisages the construction of a plant for the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Russia’s Leningrad Region.
In 2017, Gazprom and Shell agreed on the main terms of a joint venture to implement the Baltic LNG project, and signed a framework agreement for joint research on this project.
Earlier, Miller reported that Japanese shareholders of the Sakhalin-2 natural gas liquefaction project are interested in participating in the Baltic LNG project. According to him, the company maintains plans for the Baltic LNG production volume of 10 mln tonnes per year.
In September, Gazprom and the Japanese Mitsui also signed a memorandum of understanding, under which a Japanese company can take part in the Baltic LNG project.
Head of Shell in Russia Cederic Cremers said that the company is interested in building the Baltic LNG plant with the capacity of 13 mln tonnes, instead of the previously planned 10 mln tonnes. According to him, the project may be commissioned in the mid-2020s.
The Baltic LNG plant will be located in the Leningrad region in the vicinity of the seaport of Ust-Luga. The target markets for the LNG produced at the plant, are the countries of the Atlantic region, the Middle East, South Asia, and the markets for low-tonnage LNG production in the regions of the Baltic and North Seas. Earlier, Gazprom stated that the commissioning of the plant was expected in 2022-2023, but the dates could be revised.