On 24 April 2019, Polskie LNG, a member company of the GAZ-SYSTEM capital group, signed an agreement on for EU grant for the project of Expansion of the Functionality of President Lech Kaczynski’s LNG Terminal. The maximum amount of support from the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund under the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment is PLN 553 million (EUR 128 million).
The ceremony of signing the grant agreement took place in the presence of: Andrzej Duda, President of the Republic of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, Prime Minister, Krzysztof Tchórzewski, Minister of Energy, Piotr Naimski, Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure and Jerzy Kwieciński, Minister of Investment and Economic Development, President the Management Board of Polskie LNG Paweł Jakubowski, as well as the management of the GAZ-SYSTEM Group.
– It is crucial that the European Commission emphasises the strategic role of our gas terminal as a means to ensure the security of natural gas supplies not only to Poland but also to the Baltic States through diversification and promotion of new transport routes in the region – said Krzysztof Tchórzewski, Minister of Energy.
Piotr Naimski, Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure, pointed out that expansion of the LNG Terminal was part of the concept known as Northern Gate, which also includes the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline project, which will ensure deliveries of gas from deposits on the Norwegian continental shelf to Poland in October 2022.
– Implementation of both of these investments will ensure Poland full coverage of its import needs for gas from reliable suppliers, sold at competitive prices – said Minister Naimski.
– Expansion of infrastructure of the LNG Terminal in Świnoujście is a key element of the strategy, consistently implemented by the GAZ-SYSTEM Group. The obtained financing is a proof that another of large investment projects, important for the region, is gaining recognition of the European Commission – said Tomasz Stępień, President of GAZ-SYSTEM S.A.
According to Paweł Jakubowski, President of Polskie LNG, this public aid will be utilised for co-financing the expansion of the installation and the construction of new elements, which will ensure additional functionalities of the terminal.
– The regasification capacity of the installation will increase by 50%, which will ultimately reach the capacity of 7.5 billion m3 of gas per year, accounting for approximately 40% of Poland’s current demand for this resource. With this expansion will be able to launch a more competitive offer of services in regasification and unloading of LNG, the demand for which is growing in Poland – said the President of PLNG.
The grant will cover approximately 2/3 of the planned expenditure. The funds are allocated for the expansion of the following functionalities of the terminal:
– enhancement of regasification capacity of the Terminal by expanding submerged combustion vaporizers;
– expansion of sea transhipment system;
– construction of a land-based rail loading system;
– onstruction of a third LNG tank with the necessary facilities and equipment.
The extension project is also included on the European list of Project of Common Interest. The list includes investments that are of particular importance for increasing the security and diversification of natural gas supplies in Europe as well as for building an integrated and competitive market and which will contribute to achieving Europe’s energy and climate objectives.
Gaz-System