Technology company The Linde Group has been selected by Gazprom and its general contractor NIPIgas as the licenser for cryogenic gas separation technology at the Amur gas processing plant (Amur GPP), located in the far east of Russia.

Linde will engineer and supply units for ethane and natural gas liquids (NGL) extraction and nitrogen rejection, as well as for helium purification, liquefaction and storage.

The plant is part of Gazprom’s project for the supply of Russian gas to China via the ‘Power of Siberia’ pipeline from eastern Siberian gas fields. It will be built in five phases, ending in 2024.

In late December 2015, Linde and NIPIgas entered into a binding engineering and supply contract in respect of the above-mentioned units for all five construction phases of the Amur GPP. Phase one will consist of two ethane and NGL (propane, butane, pentane, hexane) extraction and nitrogen rejection units, as well as one helium production unit. Related engineering works are in progress.

When completed, the Amur GPP will be one of the largest gas processing plants in the world, with a capacity of up to 49 billion cubic meters/year of natural gas.

Alexey Miller, chairman of the management committee of Gazprom, and Dr. Wolfgang Büchele, CEO of Linde, also signed a strategic cooperation agreement stipulating the intention to cooperate and jointly carry out existing and future projects related to the natural gas value chain.

“We are delighted to significantly extend our successful business relationship with Gazprom,” said Büchele. “Not only will Amur GPP be one of the largest natural gas processing plants in the world, Linde is looking forward to cooperating on projects and technologies which will support Gazprom in its efforts to better market natural gas and its by-products.”

The cooperation agreement covers process technologies, engineering and services related to the treatment and liquefaction of natural gas, as well as localization of the respective equipment production in Russia. Furthermore, the agreement also addresses the field of helium production, including the investment in, production and operation of helium plants.

Linde notes that its engineering division has world-class experience across the entire natural gas processing chain, from proprietary process technology to manufacturing specialised, tailor-made cryogenic equipment. This know-how is complemented by a long history of experience in the design and construction of turnkeyprojects.