Baker Hughes and NOVATEK partner on hydrogen solution for LNG trains

Baker Hughes and Russia’s PAO NOVATEK have signed a cooperation agreement aimed at reducing carbon emissions from natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production.

The two companies will cooperate on the development and implementation of innovative compression and power generation technology solutions from Baker Hughes for NOVATEK’s LNG projects, supporting NOVATEK’s emissions reduction, raising efficiency and supporting long-term sustainability.

The agreement will begin with a pilot program to introduce hydrogen blends into the main process for natural gas liquefaction to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from LNG facilities, including NOVATEK’s Yamal LNG complex. Baker Hughes will provide world-class engineering and turbomachinery equipment to convert existing natural gas liquefaction trains at Yamal LNG to run on hydrogen blends rather than solely run with methane from feed gas.

“Baker Hughes is one of the main equipment suppliers to our Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 2 projects,” said Leonid Mikhelson, NOVATEK’s Chairman of the Management Board. “We are expanding our cooperation with them to develop efficient and economically viable solutions to mitigate the impact of climate change on our projects – one of the essential topics for NOVATEK and the entire oil and gas industry. Hydrogen technologies have great prospects to reduce the level of global greenhouse gas emissions, and further work is required to develop and adapt these technologies for operations in Arctic climatic conditions.”

“We are working with NOVATEK to introduce the first solution for decarbonising the core of the LNG production – the turbines driving the liquefaction process,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, Chairman and CEO, Baker Hughes. “The combination of our world-class expertise in LNG engineering and deep experience with hydrogen compression technology positions us to further lead in reducing emissions from LNG operations and further support the energy transition.”