2020-06-29

Pomeranian LNG terminals

At the end of May 2020, an idea of building another LNG terminal, or even two, which is even better, at the Polish seaside was officially revived. Such terminals would be built in the Bay of Gdańsk, in the vicinity of the port in Gdańsk. Each would operate based on a completely different concept and on a different scale.

The first project was presented by Lotos Group, which announced not a long time ago that they had finished the feasibility study of the undertaking. A storage and handling and logistic base for LNG, so-called small-scale terminal, is to be erected in the territory of the refinery in Gdańsk, at the quayside of Lotos, next to the Martwa Wisła (Dead Vistula). Its aim will be to deliver fuel gas to target recipients, such as gas stations, to the off-grid installation (beyond the natural gas network) or for the purpose of bunkering ships. This entails building i.a. a storage tank, loading and unloading facilities for the ship stand, a loading and unloading pump station as well as a pump station for tankers and containers. The target storage capacity of the terminal is to amount to over 3 thous. cubic meters of gas. However, the final investment decision has not been taken yet.

As the representatives of the concern from Gdańsk emphasize, the project, which could be named LNG Base in Gdańsk, is related to the plans of expanding the transshipment capacity of the LNG terminal in Świnoujście and aims at increasing Poland’s possibilities of distributing LNG in the entire Baltic Sea region. Anyway, Lotos is already highly involved in the bunkering of LNG in Polish ports, which is carried out by means of tank trucks. First such operations were conducted in March 2019 on board of Fure Valo and Ireland ships. Apart from that, the base could also supply non-gasified areas in Poland.

Gas Transmission Operator GAZ-SYSTEM S.A., a subsidiary of PGNiG, has brought back the idea of an FSRU (Floating Storage Regasification Unit), which would anchor in the port of Gdańsk. For now, the project is being analyzed thoroughly and all the details are kept secret. It is said off-the-record that the facility could start operating in 2025, particularly taking into consideration the fact that it may receive support from the European Union. This is because in 2019, the concept was put on the list of investments labelled by the European Commission as Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) in the energy sector. These are key infrastructural projects aiming at increasing the level of safety on the European energy market, thus they can receive support as part of the financial mechanism called the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). It is worth mentioning that such a terminal, based on the FSRU Independence, with capacity of 170 thous. cubic meters, has been operating in the port in Klaipėda since 2015.
The plans of building a floating terminal at the east coast date back to 2008. This is when a project of constructing a facility to receive LPG, which was supposed to be a part of the undersea pipeline of approx. 40 km connecting gas warehouses in Mechelinki next to Kosakowo with the reduction and measurement station of Lotos, was established. The gas concern PGNiG was the originator of this undertaking. Back then, the cost of the investment was estimated at approx. PLN 800 million. However, the idea was abandoned in 2010, one of the reasons being that the project had not been included in the list of energy projects which may be subsidized by the European Union.

The idea came back in 2013, when hydrological studies were initiated in the area of the Bay of Gdańsk and the Bay of Puck as well as along the Wisła Śmiała and the Martwa Wisła. Erecting the floating terminal was connected with the construction of new gas warehouses by PGNiG in salt caverns of total target capacity of 250 million cubic meters of gas. However, in 2014, the concern ceased the execution of the project, making the creation of the terminal dependent on an increased demand for gas among recipients.

The concept was revived at the beginning of 2017, when Gaz-System, a subsidiary of PGNiG, selected a contractor to carry out a feasibility study along with preparatory works. The company ILF Consulting Engineers Polska was selected as a contractor. The document included the preparation of the investment execution enabling supply of LNG in the quantity of between 4 and 8 cubic meters, whereas the FSRU, apart from its basic service consisting in supplying natural gas after regasification to the national grid, was supposed to provide handling and bunkering services as well. The area of the Bay of Gdańsk was indicated as a potential location of the terminal. It was announced that the terminal would start operating in H1 2021, whereas the estimated cost of its construction was supposed to amount to approx. PLN 3 billion. The investment has not been launched, though.

Article developed with "Namiary na Morze i Handel" magazine.

Photo source: "Namiary na Morze i Handel"