Page 11 - GLNG Week 19 2022

GLNG EUROPE GLNG

Estonia’s Alexela will build quay

and procure floating LNG terminal

TERMINALS THE Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs have been trying to achieve. Two months ago, the
and Communications, Elering, the country’s gas private partners were not prepared to take that
market operator, and Alexela, a private company, risk without state guarantees. We are glad they
have reached an agreement for moving forward are prepared now, and it is the best possible result
with an LNG terminal project, ERR.ee, an Esto- in terms of use of public funds. Basically, we do
nian news website, reported on May 12. not have to pledge public funds as the private
Taavi Veskimagi, head of transmission system partners are prepared to take risks. We are very
operator Elering, says that Alexela will construct glad the market failure has been removed and the
the mooring quay and is prepared to procure the private sector is willing to solve the problem,” he
floating terminal. said.™
“Infortar [investment holding company] and
Alexela have proposed constructing the quay and
procuring the terminal. That is precisely what we

Poland receives first LNG

cargo via Klaipeda

IMPORTS POLAND’S state-owned gas importer PGNiG its gas storage facilities are currently 83% full,
has received its first batch of LNG via the Klai- according to data published by Gas Infrastruc-
peda regasification terminal in Lithuania, mak- ture Europe. And in time for the next heating
ing use of a recently launched pipeline linking season, Poland is also due to start receiving pipe-
the two countries. line gas from Norway in October this year when
Gas Interconnector Poland-Lithuania (GIPL) the 10 bcm per year Baltic Connector is due to be
was commissioned on May 5, enabling Poland up and running.
to access up to 1.9bn cubic metres per year of gas Poland also plans to expand its 5.5 bcm per
from Lithuania and its 3.75 bcm per year termi- year Swinoujscie LNG terminal by a further 2.1
nal in Klaipeda. The launch came days after Rus- bcm per year by 2023, and construct a second,
sia, which normally delivers up to two-thirds of 6.1 bcm per year regasification facility in Gdansk
Poland’s gas, cut off supply after Warsaw refused two years after that. These projects are the result
to pay in rubles. of years of preparation by Polish authorities for a
The Aristidis I LNG carrier brought a cargo of future without Russian gas, led by Piotr Naimski,
65,000 tonnes of LNG, or 150,000 cubic metres the official responsible for Polish energy security.
of natural gas, to the Klaipeda terminal that had But planners in Warsaw had anticipated the end
been purchased by PGNiG at a liquefaction plant of Russian gas imports at the end of this year,
in Freeport, Texas. when PGNiG’s long-term supply contract with
“The first delivery of LNG received by PGNiG Gazprom expires, rather than a sudden cut-off
at the regasification terminal in Klaipeda is an this spring.
important milestone in the implementation of “We are prepared,” Naimski said in an inter-
our strategy to build a strong position for the view on Polish radio on April 27, hours after
group on the international LNG trading market,” Russia informed Poland it was ceasing deliver-
PGNiG’s board president, Iwona Waksmundz- ies. “We have the ability to bring enough gas to
ka-Olejniczak, said in a statement. Poland, so that there is enough for everyone. We
Poland is well-positioned to manage the dis- can remain calm.”™
ruption in Russian gas flow in the near term, as

Week 19 13•May•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P11