GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. OBTAINED A LOAN FROM THE EIB FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE LNG TERMINAL IN ŚWINOUJŚCIE

Photo of the article GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. signed an agreement on 14 December 2011 with the European Investment Bank (EIB) for financing of the strategic project for the Polish economy of the LNG Terminal in Świnoujście.
The financing will consist of GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. taking an investment loan of a maximum value of 600 mln PLN, with the possibility of obtaining the entire amount at once, wherein the minimum tranche can amount to 60 mln PLN. The credit will be available until December 2014. The maximum pay back time of the credit is 20 years. Interest will be charged in six- or twelve-month periods. Detailed financial conditions will be agreed during the request for quotations prior to each tranche.
This is the second investment credit that has been awarded to GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. by the EIB this year for the performance of key Company investments. The first contract was signed on 14 July 2011 for the construction of the Rembelszczyzna-Gustorzyn and Szczecin-Gdańsk pipelines.
"The European Investment Bank, due to its mission, creates the possibility of obtaining the cheapest financing on the debt market for projects that are important for the whole of Europe. The investment credit will enable our Company to finance the construction of the first LNG terminal in Central and Eastern Europe and Baltic Sea Region, which will enable the off-take of natural gas by sea from any direction in the world. The project was acknowledged by the Government as being of strategic significance for the economy and energy policy of Poland, which is why its timely completion requires effective funding and efficient coordination. The Polish LNG Terminal is also an element of the European transmission infrastructure within the North-South Gas Corridor and in the future will enable Central European countries access to the world LNG market,” Jan Chadam, President of the Management Board of GAZ-SYSTEM S.A, said.
In the first stage of operations, the terminal will enable the off-take of approx. 5 bcm of natural gas annually, which constitutes approx. 35% of the domestic gas consumption. With increasing demand, it will be possible to extend the off-take capacity of the terminal to as much as even 7.5 bcm.
GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. is coordinating the entire investment and is responsible for the construction and operation of the Świnoujście – Szczecin gas pipeline as well as the gas compressor station in Goleniów. Construction of the terminal is being fulfilled by a subsidiary of GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. – Polskie LNG S.A. The Maritime Office in Szczecin and the Szczecin and Swinoujscie Seaports Authority S.A. are also involved in the investment and are preparing port infrastructure to receive tankers with a capacity of up to 216,000 m³. The date of completion of the construction stage, commissioning and start-up is planned for 30 June 2014.
The cost of constructing the LNG Terminal will amount to 2.4 bn PLN (net). A part of the funding for the investment has already been obtained from European Union funds from the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment 2007-2013 - in the amount of 456 mln PLN - and the European Energy Programme for Recovery - in the amount of approx. 220 mln PLN (55 mln EUR).
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The Gas Transmission Operator GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. is a strategic, wholly-owned State Treasury Company responsible for the transmission of natural gas throughout Poland. The Company manages assets worth approx. 5 bn PLN comprised mainly of elements of the transmission system, e.g. more than 9.7 thousand km of high pressure pipelines, 15 compressor stations, 56 hubs and 970 exit points. The Company employs over 2,000 persons.
GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. will build over 1,000 km of new gas transmission pipelines by 2014. The most important will be in north-west and central Poland (Szczecin–Lwówek, Świnoujście–Szczecin, Szczecin–Gdańsk, Włocławek–Gdynia, Rembelszczyzna–Gustorzyn, Gustorzyn-Odolanów) and in Lower Silesia (Polkowice–Żary, Jeleniów–Dziwiszów). The development of the gas transmission networks in Poland may constitute an important element of the North - South Gas Corridor connecting he LNG terminal in Świnoujście with the planned Adria LNG terminal with the aid of the transmission infrastructure of Central European countries.
GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. is also developing gas pipelines in Lower Silesia, which will enable the off-take of increased amounts of gas from the western direction. Once the development of the system has been completed in 2012, it will be possible to transport up to 1.5 bn m3 of gas annually (current capacity amounts to 0.9 bn m3 of gas annually) via the Lasów point on the Poland - German border.
In 2011, GAZ–SYSTEM S.A. completed the construction of the Włocławek–Gdynia gas pipeline, the gas compressor station in Goleniów and the gas compressor station in Jarosław. The Company has also opened the new Poland - Czech Republic interconnector, which will enable the transmission of approx. 0.5 bcm of gas annually.
Investments fulfilled by GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. in 2011 with their possibility of using virtual reverse flow services on the Jamal pipeline have created the technical possibilities to import over 3.3 bcm of gas annually to Poland from new sources (approx. 30% of the currently performed import).
Many of the strategic investments fulfilled by GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. have obtained funding from the European Union in the amount of approx. 1.7 bn PLN. The Company was awarded funding from the following EU programmes: EEPR (European Energy Programme for Recovery), TEN-E (Trans-European Networks – Energy), IE OP (Innovative Economy Operational Programme) and OPI&E (Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment)." The total value of the investment programme by 2014 is estimated to be 8 bn PLN.
GAZ-SYSTEM S.A.
Małgorzata Polkowska, Spokesperson
Tel. +48 22 22-01-546, mobile +48 691-911-217
 
 Multimedia presentation of Jan Chadam, President of the Management Board of GAZ-SYSTEM S.A.

Signing of the investment loan contract. From the left: Adam Bryszewski, Finance Division Director at GAZ-SYSTEM S.A., Jan Chadam, President of the Management Board of GAZ-SYSTEM S.A., Kim Keilgaard, Director of the Loan Operations Department in Poland, EBI.

Jan Chadam, President of the Management Board of GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. and Kim Keilgaard Director of the Loan Operations Department in Poland, EBI.