One of Russia’s Gazprom’s biggest gas facilities, the Amur gas processing plant in Siberia, was hit by fire in the early hours of Friday.
The accident began with a natural gas leak near a de-ethanization column, with escaping gas igniting several minutes later. One of the facility’s lines caught fire after decompression, but others are unaffected. Gazprom has stopped gas intake to the plant as the accident investigation is ongoing and damage assessment is to be concluded.
The fire was extinguished by the remotely-operated on-site firefighting system. There were no injuries caused by the accident, but newly built facilities were damaged such as the second train.
In the short term, the accident would not disrupt Russian gas flow to China via Sila Sibiri as the company is capable to transfer volumes from the Chayanda field in East Siberia without treatment at the plant.
Still, the accident happened amid the ongoing energy crisis globally, with worries that cold winter in the Northern Hemisphere could push gas reserves to breaking point.
