Pile driving for the future FSRU (Floating Storage and Regasification Unit) terminal in the Gulf of Gdańsk is nearing completion. This stage of constructing the structures above sea level is due to be completed next week (5–11 October), after which concrete elements for the transmission infrastructure will be installed. At the invitation of GAZ-SYSTEM, Gospodarka Morska visited the site to take a closer look at the construction of the terminal.

The contractor, the GAP, FABE and UNITEK consortium, will drive a total of 509 metal piles, each several dozen metres long, into the seabed. They will form the foundations of the FSRU terminal. Several buildings will be constructed on these foundations to form the terminal. Ultimately, the infrastructure is to accommodate two FSRU vessels, or LNG carriers equipped with regasification equipment. One of them was launched this year at a South Korean shipyard, where it is currently being fitted out.

As Łukasz Radomski, Deputy Contract Director at the GAP, FABE and UNITEK consortium, said, the terminal is due to be commissioned at the end of 2027. The arrival and start of operations of the first FSRU are also expected at that time. The excavation of a microtunnel that will connect the terminal with the onshore gas pipelines beneath the seabed has also recently been completed. The contractor is responsible for the entire scope of both onshore and offshore works, from pile driving to the construction of the terminal buildings and gas infrastructure.

Plans to meet more than half of Poland’s gas demand

The FSRU terminal being built for GAZ-SYSTEM will increase Poland’s LNG import capacity. At present, LNG can enter the country only through the LNG terminal in Świnoujście. According to Sławomir Hinc, President of the Management Board, the new infrastructure will enable an additional 6 billion cubic metres of gas to be supplied to Poland annually. Ultimately, the company also plans to build a second terminal, which would increase this capacity to 12 billion cubic metres – equivalent to two-thirds of Poland’s gas demand.

Poland’s first FSRU was launched in the spring at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in South Korea. It is due to arrive in Poland by the final quarter of 2027 at the latest. Full operational readiness and the first regasification, combined with the injection of gas into the national transmission network, are scheduled for 2028.

“The FSRU programme represents an investment of more than PLN 4 billion on our part. This amount does not include the breakwater investment, which is being carried out by the Maritime Office in Gdynia and amounts to almost PLN 1 billion. Once regasification begins, we will incur the costs associated with operating this business. This will allow us to make the services available to other entities. First and foremost, this means ORLEN, as well as four other entities that will be able to import gas through here and, via Gdańsk, feed it into the system and supply customers,” President Sławomir Hinc said.

Energy security for Poland and the region

Once fully operational, the FSRU terminal in the Gulf of Gdańsk is intended to enhance gas security not only in Poland, but also in neighbouring countries. The new regasification capacity will increase the ability to supply large volumes of gas to the market in emergency and crisis situations. It will also create an opportunity to sell gas to neighbouring countries under normal market conditions, primarily Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary.

In addition, in October 2026 GAZ-SYSTEM is due to select the contractor for the second FSRU vessel. According to the plan, regasification on the future vessel is to begin in 2030.

Photos: MarinePoland.pl