First US-gas shipment reaches Poland’s PKN Orlen

11.03.2023, 17:52
photo: Wikimedia Commons
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Poland's oil and gas conglomerate PKN Orlen has received the first shipment of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) onboard its chartered gas carrier.

The first gas carrier in the fleet being built for PKN Orlen has arrived in Swinoujscie, north-western Poland, where an LNG terminal is also located. It brought a shipment of 70,000 tons of natural gas from the US. Such cargo is sufficient to cover the average weekly natural gas consumption of all households in Poland.

The gas tanker Lech Kaczynski, which has just begun its sea service, is the first such vessel in the fleet being developed by ORLEN Group. By the end of 2025, it will include a total of eight vessels.

This will significantly increase the efficiency of gas transportation and strengthen the company's position in the global LNG market. Currently, LNG supplies cover one-third of Poland's annual demand for natural gas.

One more LNG carrier, named Grazyna Gesicka, will enter service this year. All vessels will serve both ORLEN Group's long-term contracts for LNG supplies from the United States and cargoes purchased on the spot market.

ORLEN will use the LNG carriers on the basis of long-term charter contracts signed with specialized shipowning companies: Knutsen OAS Shipping and Maran Gas Maritime. Under the agreements, the shipowners will be responsible for the crewing and technical condition of the vessels. The charter period covers 10 years with the possibility of extension.

ORLEN Group has been importing LNG to the Swinoujscie Terminal since 2016. To date, it has taken delivery, including today's shipment, of 219 cargoes of liquefied natural gas with a volume of about 17.5 million tons of LNG. Most cargoes arrived from Qatar (116) and the US (83). In addition, shipments were received from Norway (13), Nigeria (3), Trinidad and Tobago (3), and Egypt (1).