Poland takes delivery of two gas ships from South Korea, aims to boost LNG imports from US

Poland has taken the delivery of two South Korean gas carrier ships ordered by the country’s state-owned PKN Orlen energy group in a bid to efficiently import LNG, primarily from the United States, Orlen CEO Daniel Obajtek said on Wednesday.

Photo:

Twitter/Gaz-System

“In Ulsan, Korea, we took delivery of two of the eight LNG carriers ordered by the Orlen Group," Obajtek wrote in a tweet. "Our own fleet will enable us to efficiently import LNG primarily from the US."

He added that “marine supplies already cover approximately 30 percent of the country's demand and are the most important source of gas for Poland next to the Baltic Pipe.”

W koreańskim Ulsan odebraliśmy 2 z 8 gazowców zamówionych przez Grupę ORLEN. Własna flota umożliwi nam efektywny import LNG przede wszystkim z USA. Dostawy morskie już dziś pokrywają ok. 30% zapotrzebowania kraju i obok #BalticPipe są najważniejszym źródłem gazu dla Polski pic.twitter.com/0usZJNpYeL

— Daniel Obajtek (@DanielObajtek) December 14, 2022

The vessels, chartered by Poland’s state-owned PGNiG oil and gas company from Orlen, will be owned and operated by Norwegian company Knutsen, state news agency PAP reported.

PGNiG has signed charter agreements for a total of eight carriers, which will be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea. Each of the vessels is nearly 300 meters long and will carry 174,000 cubic meters of LNG, or about 70,000 metric tons of liquefied natural gas.

The first two vessels will start operating in 2023. Two more gas carriers will be delivered in 2024, and another four in 2025.

(jh/gs)

Source: PAP