Murmansk-Volkhov Gas Pipeline

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Murmansk-Volkhov Gas Pipeline (also known as Volkhov-Murmansk-Belokamenka Gas Pipeline; Russian: Газопровод "Мурманск - Волхов", газопровод-отвод "Волхов-Мурманск-Белокаменка") is a proposed gas pipeline in Russia.

Location

The pipeline is proposed to run from Volkhov, Leningrad Oblast, via Murmansk, Murmansk Oblast, to Belokamenka, Murmansk Oblast, Russia.

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Project details

• Operator: Gazprom PJSC
• Owner: Gazprom PJSC
• Parent company: Gazprom PJSC
• Capacity: 41.2 bcm/year
• Length: 1,365 km
• Diameter: 1420 mm
• Status: Proposed
• Start year: 2028
• Cost: RUB 450-500 bln / USD 6,3-7 bln
• Financing: Gazprom
• Associated infrastructure: Murmansk LNG Terminal, Gryazovets-Volkhov Gas Pipeline, Volkhov-Segezha-Kostomuksha Gas Pipeline

Background

In March 2021, the pipeline was expected to start construction within the next five years. Estimated cost of investment is USD 4 billion. There have not been any recent developments related to this pipeline since June 2021. The pipeline is to supply gas to the Murmansk Oblast by connecting the Oblast to Russia's unified gas supply system and using the surplus gas of 110 bcm/y caused by the status of Nord Stream Gas Pipeline and Nord Stream 2 Gas Pipeline. The gas pipeline will also supply the proposed Murmansk LNG Terminal with gas. Construction works on the gas pipelines were expected to commence in 2023.

Initially, the gas pipeline was planned to run in the opposite direction through this corridor — from north to south, the Murmansk-Volkhov Gas Pipeline (51.84 bcm/y) — to supply gas from the offshore Shtokman field to the Unified Gas Supply System. The new version of the project more clearly outlines the pipeline's purpose: "to supply natural gas to the Murmansk LNG project and to consumers in the Republic of Karelia and the Murmansk region" (previously, only Murmansk and the region were mentioned as consumers). The project has also been given a new name: the "Volkhov-Murmansk-Belokamenka Branch Gas Pipeline". It was earlier reported that the construction of the Volkhov-Murmansk-Belokamenka Gas Pipeline could be combined with another project — Volkhov-Segezha-Kostomuksha Gas Pipeline. The latest additions to the "Territorial Planning Schemes of the Russian Federation in the Field of Federal Transportation (specifically, pipeline transportation)", released in March 2024 by the Russian Ministry of Energy, confirm the merger of the projects, as the Volkhov-Segezha-Kostomuksha Gas Pipeline has been excluded from the document.

In April 2024, it was reported that Gazprom may finance the construction of the gas pipeline, necessary for the Murmansk LNG project, by providing NOVATEK with a discount on gas transportation within the rest of Russia's Unified Gas Supply System (UGSS). This settlement scheme is currently being discussed by the companies. NOVATEK will build the pipeline itselfб but then it will transfer it to Gazprom on an installment plan and pay a tariff for gas transportation through it. Under a government directive, Gazprom, in return, must provide NOVATEK with a discount on gas transportation through other pipelines.

As of June 2024, the construction has not commenced.