Chartered gas carriers will be used for trading liquefied natural gas contracted by PGNiG with American suppliers. Two modern tankers will enter service in 2023. Norwegian Knutsen OAS Shipping selected in the tender will be responsible for the delivery and servicing of vessels.
The LNG carriers are two units with capacity of 174 thousand cubic meters each, which means the size of the cargo that each vessel will be able to transport is approximately 100 mcm after regasification. Time of putting these vessels into service will coincide with the commencement of operation of the Calcasieu Pass terminal. This is the first of two liquefied natural gas exporting facilities built by the American company Venture Global LNG, which PGNiG has signed one of the long-term contracts with.
The tender procedure for the charter service for the PGNiG Group was participated by several companies. The proceedings were conducted by the PGNiG’s LNG trade office in London, part of PGNiG Supply & Trading, which is a competence center for trading in LNG for entire PGNiG Group. Experience in the implementation of LNG transport, technical parameters of the vessels offered and price competitiveness of the offers were taken into account when selecting the shipowner and operator. According to the contract signed with Knutsen OAS Shipping the chartering period for both vessels is 10 years with possibility of extension. As the shipowner and operator the company will be responsible, among others, for staffing the vessels and taking care of their technical condition throughout the term of the contract.
Currently, the volume of contracts for US LNG in the PGNiG import portfolio amounts to approx. 9.3 bcm annually after regasification. About 7 bcm will come from contracts concluded in the FOB trading formula, according to which PGNiG is responsible for loading LNG at the supplier’s export facility, transport and unloading at the destination port. For this reason the company needs transportation capacity, but also gains flexibility in managing LNG volumes. The cargo may be sent to Poland or – if sold on the market – to another LNG import terminal in the world.
About PGNiG
Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) deals with exploration and production of natural gas and crude oil and – through its branches and key companies from the Capital Group – with import, storage, sales, distribution of gaseous and liquid fuels, production of heat and electricity as well as geophysical and drilling services. Its subsidiaries and branches carry out exploration and production activities in Norway, Pakistan and UAE, gas sales in Germany and LNG trading through an office in London
About Knutsen Group
Knutsen Group is a fully integrated shipping company headquartered in Haugesund, Norway. It provides full in-house shipping management including technical and commercial operation, chartering, as well as building supervision, conversion and project development. Knutsen is the 2nd largest shuttle tanker operator in the world, and a major operator of LNG carriers.