LNG terminal delayed until 2015
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
23.05.2014 12:56
Poland's deputy prime minister Janusz Piechocinski has confirmed that the country's first Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import terminal is unlikely to open for another 12 months.
Janusz Piechocinski. Photo: Polish Radio
“A realistic date for the completion of the investment is May, June 2015,” Piechocinski told Polish Radio on Friday.
Initially, the terminal at Swinoujscie on the Baltic coast had been scheduled for a July 2014 launch, although that deadline was later pushed back until December 2014.
Piechocinski, who is also minister of the economy and head of junior coalition partner the Polish Peasants' Party, forecast today that systematic tests at the facility will begin some time this autumn.
During the first twelve of months following the launch, the terminal is scheduled to receive 5 billion cubic metres of gas.
Ultimately, the terminal is ear-marked to receive 7.5 billion cubic metres per annum.
The LNG project is a part of the government's ongoing bid to diversify its energy portfolio, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk repeatedly referring to the need to avoid Russian “gas blackmail”.
Tusk has also cited the LNG project within the context of his proposals for an EU energy union that would “construct more effective mechanisms for ‘gas solidarity’ in the event of a crisis in gas deliveries.” (nh)