Poland’s gas transmission system operator Gaz-System has carried out an environmental survey of an area in the Gulf of Gdańsk, where the country’s future liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, consisting of a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), will be situated.
According to Gaz-System, the surveys were conducted from June 2022 to February 2024 to include all seasons, covering various plant and animal species, as well as inanimate nature elements at sea and on land. The project area in the Gulf of Gdańsk and the coastal zone of Stogi Island were surveyed.
The studies are part of the requirements for obtaining an environmental permit for the Gdańsk FSRU project . The Polish firm previously received a decision on the environmental conditions from the Regional Director for Environmental Protection in Gdańsk to proceed with the project.
Gaz-System President, Sławomir Hinc , noted: “The survey campaign performed for the FSRU Program was the first such comprehensive action carried out in the Gulf of Gdańsk. Thorough understanding of wave and current conditions will serve to identify the best location and design of the future FSRU Terminal infrastructure and the breakwater.”
Designated by the EU as a “project of common interest” , the Gdańsk FSRU entails the construction of a new floating LNG receiving terminal around three kilometers off the coast of the Polish port of Gdańsk to enable the unloading, process storage, and regasification of LNG.
“The year-round inventory will allow optimized scheduling of the FSRU Terminal construction works to minimize the project’s impact on the environment and ensure the protection of valuable marine and terrestrial animal species, including birds,” added Hinc.
The operator explained that metocean conditions in the area were recorded by on-site devices placed on a measurement buoy and three acoustic wave and current profilers (AWAC). The equipment provided information about water-related parameters including temperature, underwater noise, currents and waves, salinity, oxygen content, and optical properties.
Furthermore, nine survey vessels equipped with measuring equipment were employed to investigate the geological conditions, physical and chemical properties of the seawater as well as plant and animal habitat status. The company intends to continue taking these aspects into account during fieldwork associated with the FSRU terminal implementation and provide environmental monitoring at the construction and operation stages.
While the construction of the unit at South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard is not expected to be finished until 2027, its entire estimated regasification capacity of 6.1 bcm of gaseous fuel per year has already been booked .
After Gaz-System shared that BW LNG and MOL were the two main contenders to time charter out an FSRU in November 2023 , the latter was selected as the winner at the end of January. This was followed by a long-term time charter party (TCP) agreement signed with MOL in May.