Poland Buys Klaipeda Small-Scale Capacity
State gas company PGNiG has booked all the small-scale LNG reloading capacity at the Lithuanian terminal in Klaipeda on a five-year contract, it said November 29. Operations under the contract with Klaipedos Nafta (KN) will start from April 2020.
KN is the operator of the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) Independence and of a small-scale LNG reloading station. This is about 7 km from the FSRU. PGNiG's offer was considered the most advantageous in the tender, PGNiG said.
"Klaipedos Nafta appreciated our experience in operations and sales of small-scale LNG from the President Lech Kaczynski terminal in Swinoujscie and from our LNG facilities in Odolanow and Grodzisk Wielkopolski," said PGNiG CEO Piotr Wozniak.
PGNiG will also be able to access better the small-scale LNG market in the Baltic countries and be more competitive for customers in northeast Poland and central and eastern Europe. "It is very important from the point of view of security of supply that PGNiG will independently decide from whom to buy and bring LNG to the onshore reloading station in Lithuania," he added.
LNG deliveries will be limited to much smaller vessels than conventional ocean-going tankers as the onshore reloading station only has room for 5,000 m³ (2250 metric tons). It has two loading bays for LNG road tankers or ISO-containers that can be used simultaneously. The maximum loading rate is 100 m³ (45 mt)/hr. The station also has a wharf adapted to receive and load LNG on to smaller vessels. The transshipment rate is 1,250 m³/hr. The bunkering speed of ships is 250-500 m³/hr.
KN CEO Darius Silenskis said that having a strategic partner would help the development of small-scale and off grid LNG markets in Baltic countries and that Poland "brings various new opportunities to make supply of cleaner energy for businesses across the region more accessible."
When Swinousjce is expanded in 2023 it will be able to offer ship bunkering filling operations. For now, PGNiG is bunkering ships from road tankers standing on wharf in ports.