LLC “ContainerRemService” presented at the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum a prototype tank container T50 for the transportation of liquefied hydrocarbon gases (LHG). The sample was created in cooperation with NPK Shelf, and although there is no final decision on launching mass production yet, it may well serve as a “starting point” for providing customers – large oil companies, with a tank-container fleet for transporting LPG.

About the development of a prototype and the creation of a prototype, the technical characteristics of the created T50 and the prospects for production in an interview with the TCW information and analytical agency, Alexander GLAZUNOV, director of ContainerRemService LLC, spoke in an interview.

TCW: Alexander Nikolayevich, at the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum your company presented a prototype of the T50 tank container. Tell us how this project became possible, in cooperation with which companies this work was carried out?

Alexander Glazunov: I would say that this project was largely made possible thanks to our cooperation with both tank container manufacturers and their potential consumers – oil companies.
The fact is that ContainerRemService has been cooperating for a long time and is the official dealer of the production group of companies NPK Shelf, which has its own production facilities in the city of Shakhty, Rostov Region.

Both enterprises have developed the principle of interaction with backbone groups of companies with state participation – Gazprom PJSC and Rosneft Oil Company PJSC – the locomotives of the Russian economy. Given the difficult foreign policy conditions and sanctions factors affecting changes in the domestic market in the sectors of manufacture, supply, operation and maintenance of tank containers on the territory of our country, the President, the Government of Russia and the leadership of state corporations declare their readiness to encourage domestic market participants to
development of domestic production and import substitution.

During the period of shortage of specialized tank containers and the rapid growth of demand for them from individual industries, we decided to announce the possibility of organizing the production of tank containers. Taking into account the predicted need of colleagues of Gazprom Helium Service LLC, which is a structural division of PJSC Gazprom, in such containers, the choice fell on the T-50 model, designed to transport liquefied hydrocarbon gases (LPG).

TCW: Tell us about the development of this tank container prototype. What are
the main design features of this sample, including in terms of import substitution?

A.G.: We started developing the prototype immediately after the specification of the terms of reference from the potential operator and the approval of the partnership agreement.
The main feature of the model is its size and the volume of transported cargo: the tank container is 40-foot and looks impressive. Design solutions made it possible to fully implement the tasks set and meet the requirements of a potential customer.
In the manufacture of our prototype, we managed to 100% comply with the principle of import substitution – it is completely made of components made by Russian manufacturers, including bottoms, safety fittings and measuring instruments.

TCW: When you announced the project, did other potential users of the T50 show any interest in it besides your main customers?

A.G.: Yes. Immediately after the announcement, we began to receive requests from potential customers with requests to focus on their transportation needs and work out additional possibilities for transporting the types of cargo they are interested in, with the subsequent inclusion of names in the product passport.

TCW: How long did the project take? What tests did the prototype go through?

A.G.: The whole process of designing, drawing up design documentation and building a tank container took about two months.
The prototype passed all the necessary tests provided for by the technical control and rules for working with pressure vessels. The test results show that the T50 sample fully meets the requirements of Gostekhnadzor. The vessel withstood a daily hydrotest with a pressure of 22.5 atm without any complaints from the first time. A detailed operating manual and a vessel passport were developed, with all the necessary technical accompanying documents.
I would also like to note that our product is built in strict accordance with the rules for the construction of containers of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS) and the necessary certification of processes and confirmation of competencies are currently being carried out. This is a difficult, multi-stage and rather lengthy process, but our production site has all the necessary forces and means, technical and human resources, and meets the most stringent requirements in order to overcome this path without any particular difficulties.

TCW: Are you planning to launch the T50 into mass production?
A.G.: The decision on this will be made after passing all the necessary formalities and complete registration of the product. Theoretically, the capacities allow creating new production processes, but we must analyze the market, see the reaction to the proposal.
I want to say that in terms of manufacturing, our model is not the easiest to perform among all tank container models. Therefore, its choice and successful completion of the construction is a kind of our declaration of intent and a statement about our capabilities in the market. If requests for production of other models are received from serious participants in tank container transportation, we will also work out manufacturing options.

TCW: What is the cost of manufacturing a prototype tank container and its price for the buyer?
A.G.: This question is of interest to many of our partners, but, unfortunately, I do not have the opportunity to answer it now. This is due to the fact that the construction was carried out under agreements with the enterprises of the Gazprom group, which do not provide for the disclosure of certain interaction parameters, including commercial information. I can only say that its value will be quite market, especially considering that it is made entirely from Russian materials and all income from sales remains in the internal economic contour of the country.
In our difficult time, windows of opportunity are not only closing, but also opening in different sectors of the economy: the demand for different groups of goods is changing, and we are ready to change along with it. We focus on moving forward and development and invite all interested people from various structures to partnership to implement joint projects.

SPIGF-2022
The XI St. Petersburg International Gas Forum (SPIGF-2022), which was attended by ContainerRemService LLC and Tank Container World, was held at the Expoforum Exhibition and Convention Center on September 13-16.
According to the organizers, this year’s landmark event for the oil and gas industry was dominated by a topical question: how to predict industry opportunities in a situation of extreme uncertainty? As a result, the topic of forming strategies has become a “red thread” through almost all the events of the forum.

Import substitution in the oil and gas industry was widely discussed at the forum. Although this topic was on the main agenda of the SPIGF in previous years, but today, in the face of increased sanctions pressure, it has turned out to be more relevant than ever. The forum participants had a unique opportunity to see the novelties of import substitution, one of which is the T50 tank container.

Other topics were also covered – the environmental agenda, planning of technological developments using artificial intelligence, issues of working with personnel. Issues of gas production in the Arctic and underground gas storage were considered. Finally, the main event of the forum was the plenary session “Russian Gas Industry: Development Priorities in the New Conditions” with the participation of representatives of the largest oil and gas companies.
Unlike the previous forum, which was held in a hybrid format under the conditions of covid restrictions, this year the event returned to the format of offline meetings and the nature of lively discussions.
In 2022, more than 40 delegations and representatives of the gas industry from 22 countries of the world, including Algeria, Mozambique, Nigeria, Cameroon, South Korea, the USA, the Netherlands, Austria, Serbia and Iran worked at the SPIGF venues. The business program of the forum included 19 thematic areas and more than 80 events.

“This year, the gas forum really brought together a large number of companies on its site, many of which proposed their solutions for import substitution, which in our time of sanctions and the time of maximum pressure on Russian industry inspires great optimism. It can be seen that the companies are focused on the further development of the gas industry – they offer new solutions and try to create efficient equipment as soon as possible, the introduction of which will bring benefits and success to the development of the entire domestic gas industry. In general, the event showed a high level of organization and the effectiveness of the dialogues and discussions that took place at the forum,” Kirill Boltaev, TCW CEO, shared his impressions after visiting the forum.

One of the “headliners” of the fourth International Tank Container Forum (ITCF-2022), which will be held on November 3, 2022 as part of the CHEMISTRY-2022 exhibition, will be Alexander Glazunov, Director of ContainerRemService LLC.

Within the framework of the announced topic of the report “Business Development Strategy of ContainerRemService LLC”, the speaker will talk about the company’s work on creating a prototype T50 tank container for the transportation of liquefied hydrocarbon gases, which was presented at the last St. Petersburg International Gas Forum, and about plans to produce tank containers of this type in Russia.

In addition, ContainerRemService LLC will soon become the official representative of CIMC in Russia. And within the framework of this cooperation, together with Alexander Glazunov, Lei Fuqiang, Sales Director of the Foreign Operations Department of CIMC and Jiang Xueping, Manager of the Foreign Marketing Department of CIMC SANCTUM, a plant for the production of tank containers for liquid helium, are planning to speak at the forum.

Gazprom Helium Service LLC and ContainerRemService LLC have entered into a cooperation agreement valid until 2025.

The document provides for joint activities of companies in the field of production and supply of tank containers for the transportation and temporary storage of liquefied hydrocarbon gases (LHG).

The agreement was signed by Lyubov Brish, Director General of Gazprom Helium Service LLC, and Alexander Glazunov, Director of ContainerRemService LLC.

Currently, the necessary as-built technical documentation is being developed for the construction of a tank container.

As part of the agreements set out in the agreement, a sample of the first domestically produced lightweight tank container for the transportation and temporary storage of LPG will be held at the site of the XI St. Petersburg International Gas Forum from September 13 to 16, 2022.
Reference.

In March 2022, during the implementation of the import substitution program in LNG projects of Gazprom Helium Service LLC, working visits were made to the leading Russian enterprises in the field of cryogenic technologies – JSC NPO Geliymash and PJSC Cryogenmash.
Serial production of domestically produced tank containers will ensure the transshipment of cryogenic products manufactured by the Amur Gas Processing Plant and Gas Liquefaction Complexes of Gazprom Helium Service LLC — liquid helium, liquefied natural gas and liquefied hydrocarbon gases.

LLC “ContainerRemService” has been a competent participant in the market for handling, maintenance and repair of the tank container market for more than 8 years and a partner of the largest petrochemical holdings.

In recent years, methanol production in Russia has been growing, up to half of the volume produced was exported via established logistics routes, even in the face of a difficult “covid” 2021. But since the end of February, manufacturers have come under the strengthening of the sanctions regime, foreign trade flows have stopped, and the volume intended for export ended up on the domestic market, which caused prices to fall.

ALEXANDER GLAZUNOV, General Director of EURASIA CHEMICAL LLC, told TCW about how the methanol market works in Russia, how the current situation affected manufacturers and suppliers of these products, as well as about the possibilities for developing and developing new logistics export routes.

TCW: Alexander Nikolayevich, how did the production of methanol develop in Russia, how much is produced today and what companies produce it?

Alexander Glazunov: Over the past 10 years, methanol production capacity in Russia has increased by 1.3 times and amounted to about 4.5 million tons. Over the past three years, production volumes amounted to 4.4-4.5 million tons per year, of which about 2 million tons or more than 40% were exported (Fig. 1). The apparent consumption of methanol in the Russian market is estimated at 2.4 million tons.

Rice. 1. Dynamics of production and export of methanol in Russia, 2015-2021

Methanol is produced at nine large enterprises, and small-tonnage units are also operating to meet the needs of gas production facilities. The largest producers are Metafrax, Shchekinoazot, Tomsk Gazprom and Tomet. In total, the top four produce approximately 85% of Russian methanol (Fig. 2).

TCW: What were the developments in methanol production and marketing in 2021?

A.G.: In 2021, there was a significant increase in the market volume, manufacturers tried to maximize output and keep the price at a certain level. At the end of the year, Tomet created intrigue in the industry by unexpectedly stopping production for several months for internal corporate reasons, but at the same time preventing a significant redistribution of its sales base among other market participants.
In a growing market, almost every manufacturer planned to develop production capacities, and Shchekinoazot and Metafrax even managed to launch new production units, significantly increasing the volume of the methanol production market. Tomet was preparing to launch the third methanol unit and autoloader.
At the end of 2021, all market participants and consumers, expecting increased restrictions and price increases, overstocked their storage capacities and formed stocks at a rather high price.
Although it was difficult, communications and sales were completely lined up under the conditions of covid restrictions in 2021, but before we had time to overcome them, an abnormally snowy winter set in, which significantly affected the car turnover and in some places fettered wagons with cargo at stations where up to 70 % of the personnel was out of order. To date, a number of manufacturers have some part of the train together with the cargo, which was outside the country in late February – early March, fell under the nationalization sanctions program. However, the increase in production volumes allowed some manufacturers to even dump.

TCW: You noted that about 40% of the methanol produced in Russia has traditionally been exported. Tell us about the main exporters and the specifics of Russian methanol exports in terms of logistics.

A.G.: Methanol production in Russia is indeed export-oriented: in 2020, 48% of methanol produced was exported, in 2021 – about 43%. Last year, shipments of methanol from Russia abroad decreased by 256.6 thousand tons compared to 2020, to 1.84 million tons, the export of the product reached a minimum since 2018, when 1.9 million tons were exported. It is believed that the main reason for the decline in exports was increased demand in Russia, in particular, from the largest consumer Nizhnekamskneftekhim, a producer of methyl tert-butyl ether and isoprene rubber, as well as enterprises producing resins.
In 2013-2017, Tomsk Gazprom (Sibmetakhim) was the largest exporter of methanol with a share of up to 30%, then in 2018 Metafrax became the sales leader, exporting a quarter of Russian methanol. Shchekinoazot, due to its logistical advantages over Perm and Tomsk enterprises, has become the leader in methanol supplies to Europe. The geography of its sales includes more than 10 countries, while Tomsk Gazprom and Metafrax traditionally supplied their main volumes of methanol to the ports of Finland, and from there they dispersed in transit to the Netherlands, Sweden, Great Britain, France, Germany, etc.

TCW: Why were Finnish ports used and not Russian ports? After all, methanol was delivered to Finland, including by sea from St. Petersburg …

A.G.: No matter how trite, this is due to the lack of sufficient capacities for transshipment of methanol in Russian ports. In addition to Finland, Slovakia and Poland were used for the transit of methanol; in 2020, Russian methanol was transshipped through the Belarusian station Lyshitsy.
But the situation should soon change for the better, taking into account the plans to build a plant for the production of methanol and a terminal for its shipment for export in Ust-Luga.

TCW: So methanol exports from Russia are traditionally focused only on Europe?
A.G.: At present, yes. Previously, Turkey was also a significant importer of Russian methanol – up to 0.5 million tons of the product was shipped there until 2009. But now export shipments do not exceed 50 thousand tons per year. On the Black Sea, the port of Kavkaz, which is poorly adapted for these purposes, is used for transshipment of methanol. The terminal can accept vessels with a capacity of no more than 3-5 thousand tons, which significantly limits destination markets and traffic volumes.
The largest methanol-consuming region, the Asia-Pacific region, does not receive Russian methanol. This is due to the location of the main manufacturing enterprises in the European part of the country. Deliveries to this region can begin after 2023, and then only if projects in the Amur Region and Primorsky Territory are implemented.

TCW: Tell us about the activities of EURASIA CHEMICAL in the Russian methanol market.

A.G.: EURASIA CHEMICAL is a supplier of methanol on the Russian market. The stability and quality of products is guaranteed by direct deliveries from certified manufacturers Tomsk Gazprom, Tomet and Shchekinoazot.
The main types of services we provide include trading – selection and supply of raw materials for the individual tasks of the customer, logistics – reliable and efficient delivery of goods of any hazard class and storage of raw materials, as well as contract manufacturing of products for the specified parameters of the customer.

At the end of 2021, we sold and delivered about 20 thousand tons of methanol to consumers on the domestic market, having established ourselves as a reliable supplier, ready to adapt to the individual conditions of the customer.

TCW: How does the market for methanol supplies look like after February 24, and can we talk about the prospects for exporting this product today?

A.G.: The main producers of methanol fell under sanctions, export-import operations stopped, the work of ports stopped, 40% of the produced volume went into supply on the domestic market, which caused the price to fall. Manufacturers began to plan the next repairs of installations for April in order to somehow contain the price on the market by reducing the surplus. But today it can be stated that this was not fully achieved, and the price dropped by more than 10% at the junction of March-April.

Nevertheless, the export of methanol can still be considered a promising direction. Now many market players, including our company, are working on new logistics export routes, also considering new complex directions.

The reduction of methanol exports to Europe will inevitably lead to a worsening of the economic situation for European countries, as it means a serious production deficit. Methanol is the basis for the production of more than 2500 products in both small and large strategic industries. It is not possible to replace such a volume of supplies quickly, and even more so, without significant economic losses, which is explained by the location of the world’s methanol producers and the long-distributed production volumes.
A paradoxical situation has arisen: the cost of methanol is growing all over the world, while in Russia it is falling. In this regard, all market participants, both from our side and from the other side, are looking for opportunities to legally adapt logistics routes. Given the sanctions and the fact that China will soon take over the production and supply of a significant amount of imported goods, it will obviously increase its consumption capacity in the near future.

Crisis periods always open new windows of opportunity. For many market participants, work in the new conditions for one reason or another often becomes impossible, they have to change in order to survive, or even leave the market. However, for the same reasons, for others, on the contrary, new active resources appear. EURASIA CHEMICAL has been working on the market of large-capacity chemistry for several years and sees its opportunities only expanding. Given these circumstances, we invite partners to cooperate who are ready to look for solutions to interesting problems together!