Russian gas giant Gazprom has sold its 80% holding in the Baltic LNG project to the Sibur petrochemical group, Baltic LNG general director Alexander Krasnenkov said in an interview published in Gazprom's corporate magazine Wednesday.
Sibur is in talks to acquire the remaining 20% in the project from Russia's largest shipper, Sovcomflot, Krasnenkov added.
The petrochemical company plans to use Baltic LNG's 120 hectare property to build a methanol plant, he said, reiterating a statement made in March 2011 to Gazprom's corporate publication.
"Other companies may join the [methanol plant] project," Kransenkov added, providing no further details.
Gazprom abandoned plans to build the Baltic LNG plant in February 2008.
Initially, Gazprom had planned to build a 5.0-7.2 million mt/year LNG plant near the Primorsk port on the Baltic coast, "but the project didn't seem effective enough to Gazprom, so the decision was made to reject it in favor of Shtokman," Krasnenkov said in March 2011, referring to the giant gas project in the Barents Sea.
The Shtokman project plan includes construction of an LNG plant with an output of 7.4 million mt/year in phase one. The startup of LNG production at Shtokman is currently scheduled for 2017.
However, the deadline for the project's final investment decision has been delayed a number of times.
In late December, the Shtokman phase one partners said they would take the FID by the end of March.
Gazprom holds 51% in phase one of the Shtokman project, with France's Total controlling 25% and Norway's Statoil the remaining 24%.
