Poland: Ministers Visit Swinoujscie LNG Terminal Site

On 17 May 2013, Wlodzimierz Karpinski, Minister of the State Treasury and Slawomir Nowak, Minister of Transport, Construction and Maritime Economy, paid a visit to the construction site of the LNG Terminal in Swinoujscie, the key project for the energy security of Poland.

This was the first visit to the construction site for Minister Karpinski after his appointment as a Head of Treasury Department. Both Ministers took part in the act of closing of the breakwater construction project within the LNG Terminal facilities, and monitored the progress of works on the terminal implemented by the multinational Consortium.

Minister Karpinski said he was pleased with the fact that the construction of the liquefied natural gas terminal in Świnoujście had substantially accelerated in recent months. He emphasised the fact that Poland undergoes rapid changes, sometimes – as in the case of the construction of the breakwater – resulting in the increase the size of our country. He added that the project currently implemented in Świnoujście demonstrates the appreciation of Polish know-how’s significance, as well as expansion of the state infrastructure to include over PLN 4 billion-worth LNG terminal.

The construction of the LNG terminal in Świnoujście has considerably accelerated in recent months. Over the last three months the increase of project progress reached 13,6 percent and it is currently determined at the level of nearly 60 percent. This upward trend also applies to the number of sub-contractors engaged in the construction work at the terminal. At present, the number of workers on the site ranges from 800 to 1000 and it doubled in comparison with the same period last year.

The most significant construction challenge undertaken at the site over the recent months has obviously been the concreting of both LNG tanks’ roofs. The first layer is already completed, and the second, final one is currently being put on the second tank. At the same time, assembly and welding works, predominantly involving gas-tight and thermal insulation inside both tanks are continued. Also in other terminal facilities the construction works are underway, comprising the assembly of steel piperacks, transmission pipelines and building the foundations. At the same time, the assembly of the steel structure for the platform around unloading arms in the marine part of the terminal is underway. The delivery of unloading arms is scheduled for the coming week, and their installation will begin in early June.

The construction of the LNG terminal in Świnoujście will allow to receive natural gas by sea from virtually any direction in the world. The first contract for the supply of liquefied natural gas from Qatar – signed between PGNiG and Qatargas – will guarantee the delivery of 1,5 bcm of LNG annually during a period of 20 years from 2014. The facility’s initial regasification capacity is designed to amount to 5 bcm, although the terminal is expected to expand its capacity up to 7.5 bcm by means of construction of the third cryogenic tank, and this way to satisfy approximately 50 percent of the current annual demand for gas in Poland.

Once the project is ready, Poland will gain access to the global LNG market, which will improve the country’s position in gas supply negotiations and extend sourcing opportunities.

Due to a relatively high regasification capacity of Polish terminal, being so far the largest and the most advanced project contributing to the extension of regasification capacity in the Baltic Sea, and the fact that the project coincides with Polish gas transmission system development plans, the Świnoujście plant is expected to have a substantial impact on the gas market in the region.

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LNG World News Staff, May 21, 2013; Image: Polskie LNG