PGNiG has signed Heads of Agreement with Sempra Infrastructure defining the main provisions of a purchase and sale agreement for 3 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per annum. The LNG would be sourced from two liquefaction terminals in the Gulf of Mexico and would come to Poland, among others, via a floating regasification terminal in the Gulf of Gdansk.
The agreement concluded by PGNiG and Sempra Infrastructure provides for the signing of 20-year sale and purchase agreements for LNG from the future expansion of the Cameron LNG terminal in Louisiana and the anticipated Port Arthur LNG terminal in Texas. The Cameron LNG expansion terminal is expected to be the source of 2 million tons of LNG per annum while the Port Arthur LNG terminal is expected to be the source of 1 million tons of LNG per year. The total annual volume corresponds to approximately 4 bcm of natural gas after regasification. The parties expect that the initial deliveries of LNG may start in 2027. The future contract would be based on the free-on-board formula, which means that the buyer is responsible for LNG shipments originating from the liquefaction terminals.
”The agreement signed today paves the way for negotiations on detailed terms of the LNG contract that will provide PGNiG with LNG from a reliable and highly valued infrastructure partner. LNG is already one of the cornerstones of our diversified strategy to enhancing Polish energy security as well as strengthening the commercial potential of the PGNiG Group. We are determined to further expand our operations in this direction and are therefore taking steps to secure access to adequate gas volumes in the future. We also take into account the planned launch of a floating regasification terminal in the Gulf of Gdansk, which is expected to be an important element of the gas import infrastructure for Poland and the whole region,” said Iwona Waksmundzka-Olejniczak, PGNiG SA President.
The Cameron LNG Phase 1 liquefaction facility was first commissioned in 2019. Currently, the Cameron LNG facility has the capacity to produce 12 million tons of LNG per year. Sempra Infrastructure, together with its partners in the Cameron LNG joint venture, plans to expand the facility in the coming years, which will increase the facility’s total production capacity to nearly 19 million tons of LNG per annum. The LNG that is subject to the purchase and sale agreements with PGNiG is expected to be sourced from the expansion.
The Port Arthur LNG terminal is expected to produce about 13.5 million tons of LNG per year in the first phase of operation. The project has already obtained all necessary permits to start the investment.
“Today’s agreement underscores our commitment to help provide energy security to Poland and our global partners through long-term LNG sales,” said Dan Brouillette, president of Sempra Infrastructure. “Our relationship with PGNiG is core to this commitment and we are excited to continue working closely with them to advance more reliable, secure and increasingly clean energy solutions.”
The Gulf of Gdansk LNG terminal is a project developed by GAZ-SYSTEM, which already operates the President Lech Kaczynski LNG Terminal in Świnoujście. Plans call for the terminal to have a regasification capacity of approximately 6 bcm of natural gas per annum. GAZ-SYSTEM has already finished the first phase of the Open Season procedure aimed at assessing the interest of market players in using the terminal, during which PGNiG had placed an order for FSRU regasification services.
PGNiG already signed long-term contracts with American LNG producers for the supply of a total volume of 7 million tons, which provides over 9 bcm of natural gas after regasification. The contracts provide for a significant increase in supplies from the U.S. from 2023. The company has reserved the full regasification capacity of the terminal in Świnoujście, Poland, which, after the expansion of the installation, allows it to accept LNG cargoes of 6.2 bcm of gas after regasification, with a target capacity of 8.3 bcm per annum after further expansion in 2024. The PGNiG Group has also booked capacity in the terminal in Klaipeda, Lithuania. The supplies received in Klaipeda can provide gas for the customers in the Baltic States as well as in Poland, benefiting from the Poland-Lithuania Gas Pipeline, launched in May this year.