Page 11 - GLNG Week 04 2021
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GLNG                                            EUROPE                                                GLNG


       Polish gas plant to run on




       Lithuanian LNG supplies




        PROJECTS &       LITHUANIA has announced plans to provide  Poland and 2.4 bcm in the other direction. Some
        COMPANIES        neighbouring Poland with imported LNG to  45% of construction work had been completed
                         fuel a gas-fired power station planned in the  by early October 2020, according to Lithuanian
                         north-eastern city of Ostroleka.     gas system operator Amber Grid.
                           The Ostroleka project was originally due to   Poland has its own LNG terminal, but this is
                         run on coal, boasting a 1-GW capacity. It was  located at Swinoujscie, in the country’s north-
                         revived in 2016, a year after Poland’s ruling Law  west near the German border. The Ostroleka
                         and Justice Party took office on a platform of  facility will be built on the other side of the coun-
                         saving the nation’s coal industry from collapse.  try just 200 km from the Lithuanian border.
       The power plant will be   But state-owned power utilities Enea and Energa   Poland wants to expand the role of gas in
       purchasing its gas via   later decided to switch the plan to gas.  power generation while also reducing its reli-
       the Klaipeda terminal.  Polish oil refiner PKN Orlen, which now  ance on Russia for supplies. The country cur-
                         leads the project after acquiring Energa, has said  rently gets two-thirds of its gas from Gazprom.
                         it will only take an investment decision if the sta-  But the government has repeatedly said it does
                         tion uses gas.                       not intend to renew its long-term contract with
                           “According to the plans, the power plant will  the Russian supplier, which is due to expire at the
                         be purchasing its gas via the Klaipeda terminal,”  end of 2022.
                         Lithuanian Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys   PKN reached a deal in December to co-op-
                         told a parliament committee meeting shared on  erate with Polish gas company PGNiG on build-
                         YouTube last week. “This will use a third of its  ing a 750-MW gas-fired plant in Ostroleka by
                         capacities.”                         the end of 2024. PKN also agreed on taking gas
                           The Klaipeda terminal’s operator, Klaipedos  deliveries from PGNiG until 2027.
                         Nafta, has not commented on the matter, and nor   The plan has drawn criticism from Poland’s
                         has PKN.                             influential coal industry, with mining trade
                           Poland and Lithuania are due to be linked via  unions threatening to strike last September
                         a new gas pipeline by the end of this year, capable  unless the government revived the plan for a
                         of flowing 1.9bn cubic metres per year towards  coal-fired plant.™








       Yamal LNG’s fourth train starts production





        PROJECTS &       RUSSIA’S Novatek has brought on stream the  progress at the Yamal LNG train has no bearing
        COMPANIES        fourth long-delayed production train at its  on the sanctioning of Obsk LNG.
                         Yamal LNG venture in the Russian Arctic, its   Yamal LNG’s first three 5.5mn tpy trains were
                         CFO said on January 26.              launched between late 2017 and late 2018. Its
                           The 0.9mn tonne per year (tpy) mini-train  fourth had been scheduled to start up at the end
                         is now flowing its first quantities of LNG, CFO  of 2019, but has been repeatedly delayed. Russian
                         Mark Gyetvay said at the online European Gas  press reported in early 2020 that some of its pro-
                         Conference on January 26. Its first full cargo will  cessing pipelines had been designed incorrectly.
                         be loaded onto a tanker in a few months, he said.  The coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis and the
                           “The fourth line already produces LNG,”  resulting slump in gas prices last year were also
                         he said. “We are testing and launching it and I  likely contributing factors. Its volumes are set to
                         think that the first loading will be made in the  be sold on the spot market, where prices reached
                         first quarter.”                      historic lows in the wake of the pandemic.
                           The train uses Novatek’s self-developed   Gyetvay also made the case for gas as a relia-
                         Arctic Cascade liquefaction technology, which  ble form of energy, pointing to recent brownouts
                         the company plans to adapt for larger trains in  and blackouts in California, where renewables
                         northern Russia in the future. Novatek hopes to  have been rolled out rapidly. He also said predic-
                         take a final investment decision (FID) this year  tions of gas losing its share of the energy mix were
                         on its 5mn tpy Obsk terminal, which will also  greatly exaggerated, and that the LNG industry
                         employ the technology. But it has insisted that  was working on curbing its emissions.™



       Week 04   29•January•2021                www. NEWSBASE .com                                             P11
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