Polskie LNG, the operator of Poland's only LNG import terminal in Świnoujście on the Baltic Sea, has awarded contracts worth PLN1.9bn (€426m) to a consortium of Porr and TGE Gas Engineering for expanding the terminal capacity from 5 bcm/year to 8.3 bcm/year by the end of 2023. In addition, a new 180,000 m3 storage tank will be built on the site.
In May 2019, Polskie LNG signed an agreement on an EU grant for expanding the terminal by 2.5 bcm/year to 7.5 bcm/year and adding a third 160,000 m3 storage tank. Since then, the expansion project size has been revised upwards, due to rising domestic gas demand. Polskie LNG received a PLN4103m (€218m) support from the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund, under the 2014-2020 Infrastructure and Environment Operational Programme.
In November 2019, Poland’s state-owned oil and gas company PGNiG decided to end its 9 bcm/year gas supply contract with Gazprom. PGNiG has been diversifying its gas supply in recent years, most notably with the signature of long-term supply agreements with US LNG producers. In 2019, LNG imports (most of which from Qatar, Norway and the United States) rose by 27% (+0.7 bcm, from 2.7 bcm in 2018 to 3.4 bcm in 2019), accounting for 23% of total gas imports. Meanwhile, Russian gas imports remained stable at around 9 bcm in 2019. Consequently, the share of gas imports from Russia in the total Polish import volumes dropped to 60% in 2019 from 67% in 2018.