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Alexey Miller, the Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom and Sergey Frank, Director General of Sovcomflot have signed a cooperation agreement on the transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which will include the use of ships powered by liquid fuel and natural gas in an aim to cut emissions.

The cooperation agreement on the transportation of LNG from the Shtokman field - one of the world's largest natural gas fields, located in the Barents Sea - was signed during the XIV International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg on Friday 18th June.

As part of the agreement, both companies will cooperate in the development of LNG transportation strategies, determining the appropriate specifications for gas carriers and configuring the fleet required for the Shtokman project. Priority will be given to Russian shipbuilding companies when placing orders on a competitive basis, Gazprom said.

Dual-fuel diesel engines capable of running on both liquid fuel and natural gas are also planned to be used in order to reduce hazardous emissions and increase engine efficiency.

Onshore power supply in ports - referred to as 'cold ironing' - has also been planned for in order to help mitigate the environmental impact.

Commenting on the agreement, Alexey Miller said "Gazprom aims at making the maximum use of the domestic companies' potential in developing Russia's offshore fields, primarily, the unique Shtokman field. Our main objectives are reliability, security and efficiency. In this regard, introduction of state-of-the-art technologies, development of the domestic engineering industry and creation of strong economic ties are the necessary preconditions for further development of the new oil and gas production region on the Arctic shelf."

"Our companies have a long-lasting history of successful cooperation within the Sakhalin II project execution and the Prirazlomnoye field development. When implementing the Shtokman project we are ready to share with our colleagues the best practices of supervision over the LNG carrier construction and operation processes," commented Sergey Frank.