Page 12 - GLNG Week 22 2022

GLNG EUROPE GLNG

Poland looks to Egypt

for gas supplies

SUPPLY EGYPT is a prospective supplier of gas to terminal in the Gdansk Bay around 2026, Duda
Poland and the European Union, Polish Presi- said in Cairo.
dent Andrzej Duda said during a visit to Cairo Poland has also hinted at building a second
on May 30. floating terminal to meet demand from the
The EU is looking for alternatives to Russian Czech Republic and Slovakia.
gas in retaliation for Moscow’s waging war on Polish Environment Minister Anna Moskwa
Ukraine. While several countries have already said Poland is considering building another
weaned themselves off Russian gas, Poland floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU)
included, EU’s economic powerhouses Ger- for liquefied natural gas (LNG), in addition to
many and Italy are still much dependent on it. the one already being planned in Gdansk, the
Those countries argue that an overnight ban on Czech News Agency reported. The reason is
gas imports from Russia will plunge them into an increased interest in purchasing LNG from
economic and social chaos. Czechia and Slovakia.
The EU is therefore preparing the ground to Both countries are currently looking to cut
ensure supplies from other sources, with Egypt a their dependency on Russian gas and are there-
viable alternative, Duda said. fore exploring alternative delivery methods.
“We believe Egypt is a very prospective part- Poland is already planning the construction
ner and we absolutely support negotiations that of a LNG FSRU, with capacity for regasification
are going on between Egypt and the European of 6bn cubic metres of gas per year, in Gdansk.
Commission when it comes to deliveries of liq- The facility should be finished by 2026.
uefied [natural] gas to the European Union,” It would like FSRU to be part of the EU’s
Duda told a joint press conference with Egyptian REPowerEU plan, which aims to cut the EU’s
President Abd al-Fattah as-Sisi. energy purchases from Russia. The minister said
Egypt has recently stepped up gas exports the capacity of the new facility to convert LNG
from its rich deposits, estimated to be the 16th back into gas could be 6 or 12 bcm, depending
biggest globally. The north African Arab country on interest in neighbouring countries.
is also the world’s 20th biggest producer of gas. Czech Industry Minister Jozef Sikela told E15
For Poland to become an important part of daily earlier that the Czech Republic is negotiat-
the EU’s plan to redraw the map of gas supplies, ing with the Netherlands, Germany and Poland
it will need to scale up infrastructure, however. to lease the capacity of the floating LNG (FLNG)
Poland operates an LNG terminal in the terminal.™
north-western port town of Swinoujscie and
is planning to launch a floating LNG (FLNG)

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 22 03•June•2022