Rosneft, ExxonMobil to Assess CB&I and Foster Wheeler's LNG FEED Work

---

Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The contracts for the first-phase front-end engineering and design (FEED) for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Russia's Far East has been awarded to CB&I U.K. (NYSE:CBI) (The Hague, Netherlands) and Foster Wheeler Energy (NADAQ:FWLT) (Baar, Switzerland) by Rosneft (OTC:RNFTF) (Moscow, Russia) and ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) (Irving, Texas).

Project design is expected to be completed by the end of 2014. It will include front-end engineering and design documentation for the plant, associated facilities and gas pipeline, as well as engineering studies and environmental impact assessment (EIA).

Separate contracts will be awarded to CB&I and Foster Wheeler for the initial-phase FEED, for which the scope of work includes a conceptual project, including the finalization of details for an LNG plant site, gas liquefaction technology, and a construction method.

The natural gas feedstock to the plant will be provided by Rosneft's reserves in the Far East and other Sakhalin gas resources. According to the Russian company, the liquefaction plant design capacity of the project is expected to be 5 million tons annually, which may be expanded in the future.

Rosneft and ExxonMobil will assess the companies' work, following submission by the companies of their respective concepts and design. This will be the basis for the contract award for the second phase of FEED.

ExxonMobil's Russian president Glenn Waller said that special attention would be given, during the design phase, to reduce the environmental impact on the unique ecosystem of the area and to developing local infrastructure.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and nine international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.