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Gazprom and Mitsui exchanged views on the progress of feasibility studies related to the LNG bunkering of maritime vessels at the 21st St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which took place from June 1-3.

The discussions took place during a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom, and Tatsuo Yasunaga, CEO of Mitsui.

As previously reported by Bunker Index, Gazprom and Mitsui signed an agreement last year confirming their intention to cooperate in feasibility and marketing studies related to the LNG bunkering of ships in Russia's Far East and the Asia-Pacific region.

The LNG bunkering tie-up forms part of an agreement of strategic cooperation, which envisages collaboration in various areas, including LNG production within the Sakhalin II project and the increase in output with the construction of the third production train of the LNG plant.

Sakhalin II is operated by Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd., which is owned by Gazprom (50 percent plus one share), Shell (27.5 percent minus one share), Mitsui (12.5 percent), and Mitsubishi (10 percent). In 2016, the plant produced upward of 10.9 million tons of LNG, exceeding the design capacity by over 1.3 million tonnes.

On June 18, 2015, Gazprom and Shell signed a memorandum to construct the third train of the LNG plant. At present, the development of the FEED documents for the third train is said to be nearing completion.

"Gazprom and Mitsui have successfully cooperated on the Sakhalin II project. Now we have an excellent opportunity to partner in a new business area: small-scale LNG. Joint efforts in the bunkering industry will help our companies diversify our businesses and strengthen our positions in the dynamic Asian market," Alexey Miller said in September.

Also during the St Petersburg meeting, Mitsui is said to have shown interest in Gazprom's Baltic LNG project with Shell, which intends to build an LNG plant with an annual capacity of 10 million tonnes in the port of Ust-Luga, Russia.

Image: Tatsuo Yasunaga, CEO of Mitsui.