Lithuania to supply LNG to a 750 MW power plant in Poland - minister

KN Energies AB

21/01/2021 15:09

VILNIUS, Jan 21 (Reuters) - A gas-fired power station
planned for northeast Poland will use liquefied natural gas
(LNG) imported via a terminal in Lithuania, in a sign of the
region's growing independence from Russian gas.
    The Ostroleka plant was originally planned to run on coal,
but the project was suspended because of financing and
environmental issues.
    State-run Polish oil company PKN Orlen  PKN.WA , which took
on the project in a merger deal, said it would only invest in
the plant if it ran on gas.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2D152M
    "According to the plans, the power plant will be purchasing
its gas via the Klaipeda terminal. This will use a third of its
capacities," Lithuanian Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys told a
parliamentary committee meeting, which was broadcast on YouTube.
    Klaipedos Nafta  KNF1L.VL , which operates the import
facility, declined to comment.
    Lithuania and Poland will be joined by a gas pipeline by the
end of 2021.
    Russia's Gazprom  GAZP.MM  lost a third of its share of the
Finnish gas market in 2020 after a new pipeline made it possible
to import LNG from the Lithuanian facility at Klaipeda port,
which has a capacity of 3.7 million cubic meters of gas per
year, or about 74 LNG ships.
    Poland has taken steps to reduce its reliance on Russian gas
and ensure its main gas company, PGNiG  PGN.WA , has stable
deliveries beyond 2022.
    The group is buying more LNG via Poland's terminal in
Swinoujscie on the Baltic Sea and in 2021 expects to receive 31
LNG deliveries, based on contracts and purchases on the spot
market.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2I549B
    In December, PKN signed agreements with PGNiG to cooperate
on building the 750 megawatt gas power facility by the end of
2024. PGNiG is taking a 49% stake in the project.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN2G00FP
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2J30SE
    PKN also agreed to take gas deliveries from PGNiG through
2027, including to the Ostroleka plant.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2J30Y8
    Polish coal mining trade unions threatened to strike in
September, demanding the government change its energy policy,
including using coal, not gas, at the Ostroleka plant.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2GB32A    

 (Reporting by Andrius Sytas. Editing by Mark Potter
)
 ((Andrius.Sytas@thomsonreuters.com; +370 682 74006; Reuters
Messaging: andrius.sytas.thomsonreuters@reuters.net))