Ports and gas TSO join forces to facilitate Poland’s first FSRU

The ports of Gdynia and Gdańsk are joining forces with the TSO Gaz-System to build an LNG storage and regasification unit aka an FSRU.

A FSRU project on the island of Krk in Croatia. Picture by Krk LNG

The companies signed an agreement that divides the duties on the design and construction stages, determines the milestones and splits the costs.

Gas-System will be responsible for building:

• infrastructure necessary to operate the FSRU terminal, including hydrotechnical infrastructure,
• an undersea gas pipeline (ca. 3km long), which will connect the FSRU with the national transmission system,
• gas pipelines (approx. 250 km) Kolnik-Gdańsk, Gardeja-Kolnik and Gustorzyn-Gardeja.

The Maritime Office in Gdynia is tasked with providing:

• a breakwater,
• an access waterway to the line connecting the northern head of the south-eastern breakwater of the north port with the western side of the FSRU breakwater,
• a turntable,
• navigation signage for access infrastructure.

“The Polish economy is developing dynamically and needs modern and efficient technologies. Gaz-System’s investment in the Gulf of Gdańsk-a floating LNG terminal of the FSRU type – is a response to the needs of not only the domestic market, but also the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. I would like to emphasize that to implement this project, which is important for Poland, it is necessary to have a common understanding of the purpose and cooperation of many bodies and institutions – and the agreements signed today are an expression of this,” said Anna Łukaszewska-Trzeciakowska, Government Plenipotentiary for Poland’s Strategic Energy Infrastructure.

“The terminal’s capacity will meet more than 30 percent of domestic demand. The FSRU will accelerate Poland’s internal development and strengthen our country’s economic position in the region through the creation of a gas hub for the needs of neighboring countries,” said Marcin Chludziński, president of Gaz – System.

The design work of the maritime office in Gdynia on the breakwater and navigation system is already underway. Gaz-System is already designing an undersea gas pipeline connecting the FSRU with the transmission system. The Poles had previously declared that they could bring in a FSRU with a capacity of 6.1 billion cubic meters annually in 2028, but due to the energy crisis, this may happen earlier. FSRU2 with a capacity of up to 4.5 billion cubic meters a year is also on the table. However, this depends on whether the ongoing open season procedure confirms interest in LNG supplies among customers from neighboring countries: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania or Ukraine. In the fall Gaz-System is to pick the provider of the FSRU or FSRUs.

The European Commission under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) awarded the Gdańsk LNG project funding to develop technical specifications and carry out design work. The maximum amount of support granted is approx. EUR 19.6 million, according to the company.

Gaz-System / Wojciech Jakóbik