Poland Plans Major Expansion at First LNG Terminal

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Poland has begun the tender process for expanding its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal as the country invests heavily in alternatives to gas imports from Russia.

Terminal operator Polskie LNG, part of Poland's state-owned oil and natural gas company Polish Oil & Gas Company (PGNiG) (Warsaw, Poland), plans to expand the Œwinoujœcie LNG terminal in Poland's northwest to 7.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) of LNG, up from the current 5 bcm. It will include the installation of a third LNG process storage tank and an LNG-to-rail transhipment installation, which will "extend the range of services provided with the possibility of natural gas transhipment onto ISO containers and rail tankers."

Industrial Info also is tracking a project that includes an additional wharf for tankers.

The main terminal expansion project is expected to cost about 250 million euro ($285 million). A main contractor will be appointed by the end of 2019, Polskie LNG said. The capacity expansion project will be completed by 2021, while the other two projects are scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2023. Poland uses roughly 15 bcm to 16 bcm of gas annually.

"The...LNG terminal in Œwinoujœcie is devised to shape the LNG market not only in Poland, but also in the entire region," explained Pawe³ Jakubowski, chief executive officer of Polskie LNG. "The demand for natural gas in Central and Eastern Europe and in the Baltic Sea region is constantly growing. New functions of the plant will allow us to respond to that demand and more importantly--we will be the first facility to offer such a broad range of services."

In November, Poland signed a landmark 24-year deal for LNG with U.S. supplier Cheniere Energy Incorporated (NYSE:LNG) (Houston, Texas). The deal signing was attended by Polish Minister of Energy Krzysztof Tchorzewski and U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry. Poland, like much of Europe, relies on Russian imports for two-thirds of its gas needs, but it is actively seeking alternatives with the U.S., Norway and Qatar. A month earlier PGNiG signed a 20-year LNG deal with U.S. supplier Venture Global LNG Incorporated (Washington, D.C.). It has committed to take 2 million tonnes per annum of LNG, which is approximately 2.7 bcm of natural gas after regasification, and this equals to--depending on the vessel capacity--over 25 cargoes a year. Just last month, PGNiG signed a 20-year liquefied natural gas deal with Sempra's Port Arthur LNG project in Texas for the supply of 2.7 billion cubic meters per year, starting in 2023. For additional information, see November 19, 2018, article - Poland Turns to U.S. for LNG and December 20, 2018, article - Poland Inks Yet Another Deal for U.S. LNG.

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