Swinoujscie LNG Terminal 60 Pct Complete, Poland

The liquefied natural gas terminal in Świnoujście has recorded a 13.6 percent increase in progress of works over the past three months. This means that the construction is almost 60 percent complete.

This upward trend also applies to the number of sub-contractors engaged in construction works at the terminal. At present, as many as 1000 persons are working on the site, which means that the workforce has been doubled in comparison with the same period last year.

The most important construction challenge accomplished in recent months was concreting the roof structures on both LNG tanks. The first layer of concrete has been completed, the works on the second, final layer on the second tank are coming to an end. Concurrently, the gas-tight and thermal insulation assembly and welding works are continued inside both tanks. In parallel, construction works in other parts of the terminal are underway, such as the assembly of steel piperacks, pipelines, and construction of buildings’ foundations. In the offshore part of the terminal the assembly of a steel platform around unloading arms is being finished. The unloading arms will be delivered to the unloading platform in the end of May, and the installation process will begin in the following weeks.

“We – as an investor – are satisfied with the infrastructure developed in Swinoujscie, and the fact that the Consortium has successfully restored their full construction capacities. In the first quarter of this year, the construction works recorded the progress of over 10 percent. This result is absolutely remarkable for an investment of such kind, particularly since it was achieved in extremely difficult conditions. The solutions proposed by PLNG – the Investor, such as introduction of shift work, longer working hours and the acquisition of several Consortium’s subcontractors, allowed the project to enter the construction season in good condition, and we hope that this will result in reducing the delay that occurred in the previous year. Construction of a LNG terminal is a very difficult task, and as we may observe – the vast majority of plants is commissioned at a later date than originally anticipated,” says Rafał Wardziński, President of Polskie LNG.

On May 17, the progress in the construction of the Terminal was inspected by Włodzimierz Karpinski, Minister of Treasury. The Minister said he was pleased with the fact that the construction of the liquefied natural gas terminal had substantially accelerated in recent months. He added that the new infrastructure built in Swinoujscie demonstrates the appreciation of Polish know-how’s significance, as well as expansion of the state infrastructure to include over PLN 4 billion-worth project (LNG terminal, breakwaters and docks, a jetty and gas transmission pipeline of the total length of approx. 80 km).

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.

With this plant in operation, Poland will gain access to the global LNG market, and 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 29, 2013; Image: Polskie LNG