Poland to Build a Third LNG Import Terminal
Gaz System SA said it has secured more than enough customer commitments to proceed with Poland's third terminal project for the importation of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
"We are consistently strengthening Poland's position in the regional gas market, and today we have the opportunity to create one of the most important gateways to the global LNG market in Central and Eastern Europe", the state-owned gas transmission and storage operator said in an online statement.
Participation in the open season for the FSRU 2 (floating storage and regasification unit) project, to be installed in the Gulf of Gdansk, exceeded the 39 slots offered. The oversubscription led Gaz System to raise the project's regasification capacity from 4.5 billion cubic meters (158.92 billion cubic feet) a year to 6.1 billion cubic meters a year.
"Gaz System has allocated regasification capacity to four entities. For the first time in history, more than a single entity has secured access to the LNG infrastructure managed by Gaz System as a result of the Open Season procedure", it said in an online statement.
"Furthermore, following the decision on increasing the regasification capacity of the FSRU 2 terminal, in the future the facility will still provide free slots for booking to market participants.
"A total of 47 slots per year have been contracted for the period 2030-2039 and respective 35 slots for the period 2040-2044. Following the increase in the technical capacity of the FSRU 2 terminal to 58 slots, the total allocated capacity will reach 74 percent over the entire service period".
Along with the LNG Terminal in Świnoujście, which started operations 2016, and FSRU 1, scheduled to go online 2028, FSRU 2 will give Poland over 20 billion cubic meters of annual regasification capacity.
"Together with widely accessible gas transmission infrastructure, including cross-border interconnections with Denmark, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Lithuania, Poland's annual gas import capacity is expected to reach almost 50 billion m3 in 2030", Gaz System said.
"Increased natural gas and LNG import capacity translates directly into greater competition amongst suppliers. All that is conducive to the stabilization of gas prices and alignment with the levels recorded in the most developed European markets", it added.
Wojciech Wrochna, secretary of state at the Ministry of Energy and Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure, said in the statement, "The diversification of supply sources and growing import capacity of the LNG regasification infrastructure will create a unique strategic opportunity for Poland, whilst enabling us to strengthen the region's security and lay the foundation for stable, predictable energy prices for citizens and businesses".
FSRU 2 "also marks a fundamental change for Gaz System, as the company will join the ranks of Europe's leading LNG infrastructure operators, boasting one of the largest import capacities in the entire European Union", said Gaz System management board president Slawomir Hinc.
To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
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