Russia’s Gazprom loads Kaliningrad FSRU

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–The 174,000 cubic metre (cbm) Marshal Vasilevskiy has loaded at Singapore’s SLNG facility and is currently heading eastwards, shipping sources said.

The vessel has lifted about 170,000cbm of gas. The cargo was sold to Gazprom by Switzerland-based energy trader Trafigura, which has capacity at SLNG, sources also said.

The vessel is likely to be heading to Russia’s Kaliningrad to function as a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU). The cargo aboard the ship will be used for the commissioning of the facility.

The Kaliningrad FSRU was due to start on 31 October, but the timeline has been moved to early December, sources in Russia familiar with the issue said.

The Kaliningrad FSRU project was designed to achieve security of supply as the region is currently supplied by pipeline gas which needs to pass through the Baltic states.

Gazprom Marketing & Trading, a trading subsidiary of the incumbent, has secured a FOB (free on board) supply agreement at Belgium’s Zeebrugge terminal on the basis of Yamal LNG volumes.

The FOB position was initially intended to service Gazprom’s contract with India’s state-owned GAIL, which was due to commence earlier this year.

However, the contract has since been re-negotiated. While the new terms are not clear, Gazprom has sold the first four cargoes under the Zeebrugge agreement to Japanese trading house Mitsui, for loading between September and early December, sources said.

The FOB position at Zeebrugge could theoretically serve as the base to supply Kaliningrad FSRU.