PGNiG charters two new LNG carriers from Knutsen

Poland’s dominant gas firm and LNG importer PGNiG said it would charter two newbuild vessels from Norway’s Knutsen for its contracted supplies from the US.

The two firms already signed a charter deal for two carriers in November last year. This puts the total to four newbuild LNG ships.

PGNiG Supply & Trading, a unit of the Polish firm, signed the new chartering deal with Knutsen for two 174,000-cbm vessels for a period of 10 years, with an option for extension.

The vessels will enter service in the first half of 2024, according to PGNiG.

PGNiG did not reveal the name of the shipyard but Knusten has ordered the previous two LNG vessels at South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries.

Both contracts stipulate that the shipowner would be responsible for the delivery, manning and maintenance of the LNG vessels. PGNiG Supply & Trading will control their commercial operations.

PGNiG said it plans to use these four LNG carriers primarily to transport contracted volumes from US liquefaction facilities.

This new charter deal follows a new supply deal PGNiG revealed this week with US liquefaction plant developer Venture Global LNG.

As a result, PGNiG’s contracted volume from Venture Global LNG will increase to 5.5 million mt or 7.4 bcm of gas per year.

“We are consistently developing PGNiG’s position on the international LNG market,” Paweł Majewski, PGNiG’s CEO, said.

“Chartering of the tankers is an important step to implement our plans in this area. It is an optimal solution, ensuring certainty and at the same time flexibility of logistic operations, which are an important element of building competitive advantage”, he said.

Most Popular

Cheniere plans to boost LNG export capacity to 100 mtpa

US LNG exporting giant Cheniere plans to boost its export capacity to about 100 mtpa via new expansion projects at its Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi LNG terminals.

KARMOL takes delivery of fourth FSRU

KARMOL, a joint venture of Turkiye's Karpowership and Japan's MOL, has taken delivery of its fourth floating storage and regasification unit in Singapore.

NYK LNG carrier rescues 11 people in Atlantic Ocean

A liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier managed by a unit of Japan's shipping giant NYK rescued 11 Portuguese fishers in the Atlantic Ocean on June 22.

More News Like This

Knutsen, Orlen take delivery of sixth LNG carrier

Norway’s Knutsen has taken delivery of the last LNG carrier in a series of six sister vessels chartered to Poland's Orlen.

LNG carrier anchors offshore Germany’s Mukran after grounding

The 138,000-cbm LNG carrier Iberica Knutsen was on Friday anchored offshore Mukran, the home of the Deutsche ReGas-operated FSRU-based LNG import facility, following a grounding incident. Deutsche ReGas told LNG Prime that unloading of the vessel's LNG cargo is "part of ongoing operational planning."

Apollo to buy HitecVision’s Hav Energy

US asset manager Apollo has agreed to acquire HitecVision's Hav Energy, which co-owns a portfolio of 10 newbuild LNG carriers.

Orlen to supply another US LNG cargo to Ukraine’s Naftogaz

Poland's Orlen will supply another US liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo to Ukraine's Naftogaz, the third shipment as part of a recently signed deal.