PGNiG takes more regas capacity at Polish LNG terminal

Poland’s state-owned gas company PGNiG has secured additional regasification capacity at the country’s sole liquefied natural gas terminal in the port of Swinoujscie.

The company said in a statement it booked 8.3 billion cubic meters of regasification capacity at the LNG terminal from 2024 to 2040.

The Polish gas firm also booked 6.2 billion cubic meters of regasification capacity in 2022–2023 as part of a tender organized by terminal operator Polskie LNG, a unit of Gaz-System.

The two companies are yet to sign the relevant deals.

PGNiG, which is responsible for all the supplies coming to the LNG import facility, currently has about 5 billion cubic meters booked capacity up to 2022.

The company says the new regasification capacity will boost its plans to diversify gas imports and expand its trading activities on the gas market in Central and Eastern Europe.

The new capacity allocation process is tied to the expansion project that will increase the current regasification capacity of the Swinoujscie LNG terminal by 50 per cent.

Poland has significantly increased LNG purchases via its terminal in Swinoujscie following PGNiG deals with Qatargas and US player Cheniere.

The move is a part of reducing the country’s decades-old reliance on Russian pipeline gas but also cutting dependence on coal.

Last year, PGNiG brought 3.43 bcm of LNG into Poland, over one-fourth more than a year earlier.

The gas company received 0.98 bcm of LNG in the first quarter of this year, up 34 per cent when compared to the same period in 2019.

The Swinoujscie terminal expansion is not the only LNG import development in Poland.

There are also plans to install a floating storage regasification unit in the Gdansk Bay and a development aimed at building a small-scale facility in the coastal city.

A consortium consisting of Polish energy company Lotos Group and compatriot gas grid operator Gaz-System announced plans last week to build the small-scale facility in Gdansk.

The terminal would be the first such facility in Poland, which could help increase the use of LNG as a fuel in both maritime and road transport.