Poles have until the end of January to choose the supplier of the floating gas port. Its fate is to be decided by Gaz-System, which is in a state of interregnum – writes Wojciech Jakóbik, editor-in-chief at BiznesAlert.pl.
- The growing use of gas in district heating in Poland should justify the lease of a floating gas port (FSRU).
- Gaz-System needs to make a final decision on what company will deliver the vessel. The Polish TSO booked a place in the queue for the vessel until the end of January.
- Despite the period of interregnum in Gaz-System with the old board waiting for changes after the formation of the new government in Poland, the FSRU’s future should be decided.
The storage and regasification unit, commonly known as a floating gas port, is to be built in 2027-28 in the Gulf of Gdańsk with a capacity of 6.1 billion cubic meters annually, already booked by PGNiG. The growing use of gas in district heating in Poland should justify the FSRU, which in the future could be used for the supply of renewable gases: ammonia or hydrogen, or to be released.
There are two reasons why the FSRU will not arrive to the port earlier. The first is the need to build transmission infrastructure in the country, which has already started, but is time-consuming without a special act, similar to what Germany had adopted to introduce its FSRUs as quickly as possible to get gas outside Russia.
The second reason is the queue for FSRU units on the world market. Gaz-System needs to make a final decision on what company will deliver the vessel. It agreed on a framework conditions for the delivery and operation of the vessel with BW LNG from South Korea and Mitsui OSK Lines from Japan. The Polish TSO booked a place in the queue for the vessel until the end of January. If the decision is not made, the queue place would have to be booked again or Poland would end up at the end of the line, which would delay the project.
This means that Poles have about a week left to decide on the FSRU. Meanwhile, the media are speculating on who will be the host of strategic energy infrastructure. The Ministry of Climate and Environment is reluctant to share competences in this area with the plenipotentiary for strategic energy infrastructure, and according to the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna daily, the Silesian Ministry of Industry also wants a piece. This is supposed to be settled by an act on administration, which is supposed to be ready only by the end of February. The FSRU doesn’t have that much time.
Despite the period of interregnum in Gaz-System with the old board waiting for changes after the formation of the new government in Poland, the future of the FSRU should be decided. Does Poland still need it, if yes who will deliver the unit? Otherwise, Poles will end up at the end of the queue empty handed. „I think a decision will be made before the end of January. I know that the Minister of Climate and Environment spoke on this issue, and in the future this topic will be the responsibility of the plenipotentiary,” assured Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment Miłosz Motyka in an interview with BiznesAlert.pl.