Work progresses on Lithuania’s first LNG reloading station

Klaipedos Nafta, the operator of the Lithuanian sole LNG terminal said that Chart Ferox recently began hydraulic testing of the storage tanks for Lithuania’s first LNG distribution station in Klaipėda.

To remind, state-owned Klaipedos Nafta announced in April it selected the consortium comprising of PPS Pipeline Systems and Chart Ferox for the EPC contract for the construction of the LNG reloading station that will offer LNG bunkering services to customers in the Baltic region.

About 250 tons of steel have been cut and used in order to manufacture the first LNG storage tank, Klaipedos Nafta said in a statement, adding that once the construction of the first tank was completed it had to undergo hydraulic testing that takes 48 hours.

During the testing process, the tank is filled with water, and the water pressure is increased up to 12 bars and storage tank’s welding seams are inspected.

Klaipedos Nafta’s CEO Mantas Bartuška noted that “the manufacturing is proceeding on schedule, enabling us to test LNG vessels in Klaipėda on time in the first half of 2017.”

There are plans to install five “LNG storage vehicle tankers” with a volume of a thousand cubic meters, and to install two truck loading bays, including other infrastructure necessary for the aboveground terminal operations to function in a safe and reliable manner, according to Klaipedos Nafta.

The technical project includes the possibility to build a terminal with a capacity of 10,000 cubic meters and currently site soil treatment, design and engineering works are being carried out.

Klaipedos Nafta operates Lithuania’s first LNG terminal in Port of Klaipeda where Höegh LNG’s 170,132 cbm FSRU Independence is moored and used as regasification facility.

Worth mentioning, Lithuania started importing the chilled fuel in December 2014 in order to reduce its dependence on Russian pipeline gas supplies.

LNG World News Staff