Klaipėdos Marks LNG Reloading Station Commissioning With Cargo Delivery From LNG Bunkering Vessel

Shell's Cardissa delivered 1,000 cbm of LNG to the Klaipėda Seaport on Sunday. Image Credit: Shell

AB Klaipėdos nafta (Klaipėdos nafta) says it has commenced commissioning works at the liquefied natural gas (LNG) reloading station after its commissioning cargo was delivered to the station by Shell Western LNG B.V. (Shell) bunker vessel Cardissa.

"The commissioning works enable us to test the entire infrastructure for the LNG logistics in the Klaipėda Seaport," said Mindaugas Jusius, Klaipėdos nafta's Managing Director.

"All this means that we are quickly approaching a new phase of KN's operations, namely, a small-scale LNG distribution. The new reloading station, as well as the large scale LNG terminal, will be open to all LNG suppliers, already this autumn they will be able to book capacities and to supply, upon start of commercial operations, LNG to customers in the Baltic Region by means of both sea and land transport."

Cardissa delivered 1,000 cubic metres (cbm) of LNG to the Klaipėda Seaport on Sunday after having acquired the cargo from Lietuvos dujų tiekimas UAB, filling two of the station's five storage tanks.

"Today's event marks a new and significant stage in the history of KN. By exploiting LNG infrastructure more widely and expanding its activities the company is further creating added value for its clients, gas consumers and the main shareholder – the state," said Žygimantas Vaičiūnas, Lithuania's Minister of Energy.

"The fact that Shell has purchased gas via Lithuanian gas supplying company has proved once again the competitiveness of Klaipėda LNG terminal and its growing perspective."

The LNG reloading station's commissioning works are expected to be completed by the end of the autumn, with commercial operations set to be launched in the first half-year of 2018.

In November, Klaipėdos Nafta said it had received notification that the European Union's (EU's) Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) had approved €4 million ($4.39 million) in funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for the Baltic Sea LNG project, which includes the development of LNG bunkering.