BW LNG, MOL shortlisted to provide Poland’s first FSRU

Oslo-based BW LNG, a unit of Singapore’s BW, and Japan’s MOL have been shortlisted by Gaz-System to provide Poland’s first floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) as part of the Gdansk LNG import project.

Poland’s Gaz-System said in a statement on Tuesday it has signed term sheets with the two shipowners following the completion of the first part of its FSRU tender procedure.

Yngvil Åsheim, BW LNG CEO, and Toshinobu Shinoda, managing director of MOL (Europe Africa) signed the term sheets with Gaz-System.

According to Gaz-System, the agreements regulate the most important terms of the future charterparty, such as the vessel delivery date, the obligations of the parties, the consequences of delayed delivery, and the charter period.

Moreover, the provisions of the term sheet do not constitute binding obligations for the parties but set out the ‘roadmap’ for further negotiations of the charterparty and their essential content will be reflected in the final charter agreement, it said.

Gaz-System plans to conclude the deal with one of the two firms for a period of 15 years.

The firm did not say when it expects to sign the final charter deal.

MOL has a huge fleet of 97 LNG carriers, and more than 30 on order, and also owns the world’s largest FSRU, Bauhinia Spirit.

BW LNG has 28 LNG carriers in its fleet, including four on order, and four FSRUs. Last year, BW LNG sold its 2015-built FSRU BW Singapore for $400 million to Italy’s Snam and this vessel will serve the planned Ravenna terminal.

Launch in 2028

Gaz-System recently finalized two deals related to the development of its FSRU-based LNG import project in Gdansk Bay.

The agreements with the Port of Gdansk Authority and the Maritime Office in Gdynia followed letter of intents signed back in 2020.

Gaz-System said the finalization of these deals is “key for the project schedule” of the first FSRU-based terminal in Poland.

Besides the FSRU, the project includes a jetty, offshore and onshore pipelines, and other infrastructure.

Poland’s Orlen has booked entire 6.1 bcm per year of regasification capacity at Gaz-System’s planned FSRU-based LNG import facility.

Orlen is already in charge for all of the supplies coming to Gaz System’s LNG import terminal in Swinoujscie, Poland’s first such facility, via PGNiG.

The firm completed in November last year its merger with Poland’s dominant gas firm, PGNiG.

Gaz-System plans to launch the FSRU-based project, backed by the EU, in early 2028.

Besides this FSRU, the company in July launched a binding season for capacity bookings at the planned second FSRU as part of the LNG import project in Gdansk Bay.

The first FSRU will have a capacity of 6.1 bcm, while the second unit will have a capacity of 4.5 bcm per year.

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