Page 15 - GLNG Week 05 2021

GLNG EUROPE GLNG

Croatia formally launches Krk LNG terminal

PROJECTS & CROATIA officially launched the floating LNG The capacity of the terminal has been fully
COMPANIES (FLNG) terminal off the island of Krk on Janu- leased by foreign and domestic companies for
ary 29, with the expectation that it will lead to a the next three years. Around 80% of its capacity
reduction in natural gas prices for the country. has been leased until 2027, and around 50% until
The terminal, with annual import capacity 2035.
of 2.6bn cubic metres, is a strategic project for Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and
Croatia, aimed at improving security of supply Trade Peter Szijjarto, who attended Krk LNG’s
for the country and the broader region. launch, also welcomed the facility’s entry into
“This terminal in Croatia, combined with service.
those in Lithuania and Poland, makes a new Szijjarto said the terminal had created “an
point on the north-south corridor for diver- entirely new situation” for Central Europe,
sifying gas supply and competition in Central including Hungary, in terms of secure energy
and Eastern Europe,” Croatian Prime Minister supply. “The security of energy supplies has
Andrej Plenkovic said at the opening ceremony always been a crucial issue in Central Europe
as quoted in a statement. party due to an inherited infrastructure and
The €234mn ($205mn) project is co-financed partly because of historical reasons,” Szijjarto
by EU funding amounting to €101mn ($89mn) said.
for the construction of the terminal. Hungary’s state-owned utility giant MVM
The terminal started commercial operation in had booked 1 bcm per year of capacity at the ter-
early January, when the first LNG vessel docked minal, for the next seven years, making Hungary
to deliver a cargo from the US. It connects to the the terminal’s largest client. It is the first time that
national gas transport system through the newly Hungary has been able to sign a long-term con-
built Omisalj-Zlobin pipeline. tract for gas from outside of Russia.™

CNG use soars in Poland

PERFORMANCE COMPRESSED natural gas (CNG) has seen a
surge in popularity as a vehicle fuel in Poland,
state-owned gas supplier PGNiG has said, point-
ing to its cost and environmental benefits com-
pared to more conventional fuels.
PGNiG recorded a 31% increase in CNG sales
at its filling stations in 2020, despite demand for
most vehicle fuels contracting greatly in the year
as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19) travel
restrictions. Nearly every second bus sold in
Poland during the year was CNG-powered, the
company said. Some 165 CNG-fuelled buses
arrived on the streets in 2020, bringing the total
to almost 800.
PGNiG is pushing to expand the role of nat-
ural gas in the Polish economy, taking advantage PGNiG is also working
of new gas import options set to become avail- ports last year, bringing the total to five. It refu- to expand LNG use
able in the coming years. The company is also elled its first ship in Szczecin in north-west in industry and in
working to expand LNG use in industry and in Poland in November. marine and heavy road
marine and heavy road transport. Poland’s sole LNG terminal currently imports transport.
In December, it opened an LNG regasifica- up to 5bn cubic metres per year of gas but its
tion unit that will provide fuel for a major electric capacity is due to be expanded to 8.3 bcm by
car battery plant near Wroclaw due to be erected 2024. The country has plans for a second termi-
by South Korea’s LG Chem. It is contracted to nal in Gdansk, and is constructing new pipelines
supply 19,000 tonnes of LNG via trucks to the to bring gas from Norway and Lithuania. This
site over the next five years, hailing the deal as its will enable it to expand gas use, while simulta-
largest ever LNG sales contract. neously weaning itself off Russian supplies once
PGNiG also secured authorisation to provide PGNiG’s long-term contract with Gazprom
LNG bunkering services at three more Polish expires at the end of 2022.™

Week 05 05•February•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P15