OREANDA-NEWS. Polish state-controlled oil and gas company PGNiG will use its 3.6mn t/yr Swinoujscie LNG terminal to target the global LNG and regional gas markets.

The firm will start participating in the spot LNG market, including opportunities to import spot cargoes into Poland as well as selling LNG to buyers in other countries. It has started offering LNG truck-loading services and plans to supply small-scale volumes by truck to domestic and German customers.

PGNiG, through its Germany-based trading subsidiary PST, is looking at opportunities to import LNG and regasify for neighbouring countries including Ukraine and Germany, PST managing director Uwe Bode said. PGNiG is already actively trading pipeline gas in countries including Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and the UK.

PGNiG has reserved 65pc of capacity at the Swinoujscie LNG terminal, and has a contract for 1mn t/yr of LNG from Qatari state-controlled producer Qatargas. This leaves the company with around 1.4mn t/yr of spot, short-term, and medium-term trading opportunities, Bode said.

PST has opened a new spot and short-term LNG trading desk in London that will be fully operational from the end of March. "London is the European trade centre for this commodity. Our presence here will enable us to purchase natural gas for company purposes at more competitive prices," PGNiG president Piotr Wozniak said.

Poland has imported 11 cargoes to date. This includes two commissioning cargoes, eight cargoes on long-term contract with Qatargas, and one spot cargo from Norway's state-controlled Statoil.

And LNG oversupply is expected to create further spot trading opportunities for companies with European import capacity, especially with the increase in destination-free cargoes from the US, Bode said. "Asia will not swallow all the volumes," he said.

Other developments include a north-south gas corridor, which would connect the Swinoujscie terminal to the planned Croatia LNG terminal on Krk island.