March 11, 2015 [Reuters] - Poland's deputy treasury minister expects the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal being built in the Baltic city of Swinoujscie to be up and running in June or July, nearly a year later than originally planned.
The terminal is Poland’s flagship project in its drive to diversify gas supplies and reduce dependence on Russia. It was approved in 2008 and building started in 2011, but the original mid-2014 launch date has been pushed back several times.
“Definitely the turn of the second and third quarter. It will be June or July. This date is equal to full functionality,” Zdzislaw Gawlik told Reuters.
The $3 billion terminal in Swinoujscie will be able to accept 5 billion cubic metres (bcm) annually, and has an option to increase capacity.
Poland consumes almost 16 billion cubic metres of gas a year, most of which is imported from Russia’s Gazprom.
