A third partner may appear in the Baltic LNG project of Gazprom and Shell

As the Kommersant has got to know, experts of Gazprom and Shell have completed the evaluation of the Baltic LNG project. Investments in the construction of the LNG plant with capacity of 10 million tons are estimated at $11.5 billion, Shell wants 25-35% in the project, that is, another partner may appear in it. The parties plan to sign a non-binding memorandum at SPIEF in June. But analysts carefully assess the economic attractiveness of the project, noting the poor market conditions and low prices for LNG in the period up to 2025.

By results of the expert evaluation of building a gas liquefaction plant in the Baltic Sea Shell has confirmed its interest in the project, sources familiar with the situation told the Kommersant. The Anglo-Dutch company sent a letter to head of Gazprom Alexei Miller last week, described the "essential conditions" of the participation in the Baltic LNG project. The Kommersant’s  interlocutors don’t disclose any details, but call the new preliminary cost of the project - with the capacity of 10 million tons of LNG per year the plant will cost $11.5 billion. Last official estimate, which Gazprom gave, was at the beginning of 2014 and made up $10 billion. But the Kommersant’s sources consider the increase in the project cost by 15% even in the face of a sharp devaluation of the ruble a success, not a problem: "The devaluation and, consequently, reduction of price of the significant part of the works allowed us to meet the key constraint in the investment of $1.2 thousand per ton of LNG".