The first cargo of liquified natural gas from Russia's Sakhalin II LNG plant has been successfully loaded onto the LNG carrier Energy Frontier, Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) said in an e-mailed statement Sunday.
The vessel which is destined for Japan, left Russia's Prigorodnoye port March 29, heading for the Sodegaura terminal in Tokyo Bay with 145,000 cubic meters of LNG onboard.
The cargo is intended for Tokyo Gas and Tokyo electric, the plant's first customers, the statement added.
"With the start of LNG production and off-loading and year-round oil deliveries, which began in December 2008, a new major Asian energy source is now on stream," Shell said in the statement.
The LNG plant is expected to see a "gradual" increase in production this year and in 2010, with a second train expected to come online later this year.
The plant's infrastructure includes three offshore platforms, an onshore processing facility, 300 kilometers of offshore pipelines, 1,600 kilometers of onshore pipelines, an oil export facility and the LNG plant.
Almost all of the 9.6 million metric tons annual production capacity of train 1 and 2 has already been committed in long-term contracts to supply customers in Japan, Korea and other markets, the statement said.
Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd., which built the Sakhalin II LNG plant was set up in 1994, and its major shareholders include Gazprom (GAZP.RS), Royal Dutch Shell, Mitsui & Co. (8031.TO) and Mitsubishi Corp. (8058.TO).