Lithuania's LNGT Construction Moves Forward
As Lithuania has completed the first stage of a liquefied natural gas terminal construction off the waters of the Baltic seaport of Klaipeda, the Baltic country reassures all the stakeholders the construction works go according to the schedule as the kick-off of the terminal is slated for December 3, 2014.
JSC BMGS, a Latvian contractor, has already hammered in off the pier134 poles necessary to take on the construction of a terminal platform.
“We are to start off its cementing works, and after the platform is built we will be installing necessary facilities on it,” told Rolandas Zukas, LNG terminal department director at state-company Klaipeda Nafta, the supervisor of the project.
The special gas transmission and ancillary equipments will be installed by the Latvians and Germany's PPS Pipeline systems.
The latter is also responsible for laying out an 18-kilometer connecting pipeline to a LNG metering station in the settlement of Kiskenai.
The Germans have already completed the most complicated seabed works of the construction.
“The gas pipeline lies 30 meters underneath as we are currently performing drilling works from the bank to to the Kiaule nugara (Pig's Back) Island
The small bell-shaped island near the port is to become the mooring point of a floating LNG terminal, spearheading a drive in the Baltics to gain energy independence from Russian gas with European Union support.
The jetty under a contract is worth $US 46.4 million and Germany’s PPS Pipeline System's 18-kilometer gas pipeline costs as much. The launch of the pipeline is due August 1, 2014 as all the necessary works are expected to be finished next October. It is when the South Korean-built floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) is expected to moor to the terminal.
“Once Indepedence arrives we will put it on a month-long try-out to make sure it works properly, meaning it is able to get connected to the LNG terminal and funnel the gas into the reservoirs on the platform,” Rokas Masiulis, Klaipeda Nafta director general, said.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius, who visited the site last Friday, was quoted as saying “the construction of Lithuania’s LNG terminal is going smoothly.”
“We are glad to see that Latvia’s BMGS, which is responsible for the construction of the jetty, performed its work on schedule...” the Lithuanian PM said in a press release.