Japan’s Itochu Corp., Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp. (JOGMEC), and Toyo Engineering Corp., and Russia’s Irkutsk Oil Co. (IOC), last month agreed to undertake a detailed study for the commercialization of a blue ammonia value chain between Eastern Siberia and Japan. The parties are already at Phase 2 of the project, as Phase 1 was implemented in 2020.
Toyo and Itochu will proceed with a Phase 2 study on behalf of JOGMEC and will establish a master plan for the value chain that converts natural gas produced by IOC in Eastern Siberia into ammonia and transports it to Japan.
In Phase 2, a conceptual design to produce ammonia from natural gas produced in IOC’s oil fields in Eastern Siberia will be executed. It is expected that CO2 emitted during the production process of ammonia will be utilized for carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery to increase oil production in IOC’s oil and gas fields with other carbon capture, utilization, and storage methods also employed. For the inland transportation of ammonia, a railway cargo or pipeline are envisaged.
Itochu already operates a joint venture with IOC to explore, develop, and produce crude oil in Eastern Siberia.