Russia's Rostec: ready to fully replace foreign gas pumping equipment
MOSCOW, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Russian industrial conglomerate Rostec is ready to fully replace foreign equipment for natural gas transportation as well as supply large turbines for power generation, a senior manager said on Tuesday.
Russia's oil and gas industry used to significantly depend on foreign equipment. After Moscow sent its troops in Ukraine in February 2022, lots of Western companies left Russia and the replacement of foreign-made equipment has been sped-up.
Russia's reliance on Western expertise was highlighted by a row last year over an Energy Siemens - made turbine for the Nord Stream 1 undersea gas pipeline. The dispute led to suspension of Russian gas supplies via the pipeline, which was subsequently damaged by blasts in September 2022.
"Currently, the share of Russian equipment on the gas transportation market is 80%. We are ready to ensure 100% import replacement in this sector," Rostec director general Maksim Vybornykh told the Moscow-based Infotec think-tank.
Rostec is run by Sergei Chemezov, who worked in the old communist East Germany at the same time as President Vladimir Putin.
The company, apart from other activities, supplies gas turbines for gas transportation and for underground storage facilities.
Vybornykh said gas pumping machines with capacity of 16 and 25 megawatts are in high demand.
Rostec's United Engine Corporation also produces gas turbines for power stations, including GTD-110M, Russia's first high-capacity turbine, which was installed at the Taman power station in country's south. The turbine is yet to be put in operation.
The Rostec manager said the turbine is even lighter and more compact in comparison to the same equipment produced by GE and Siemens. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
