Image: Swedegas / Port of Gothenburg

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Construction of a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility is now under way at the Port of Gothenburg. It is due to become fully operational later this year.

Gothenburg witnessed its first LNG bunker delivery when Terntank's vessel, the Ternsund, was supplied with the fuel in 2016. Since then, operating regulations and routines at the Swedish port have been developed and efficiency is said to have been improved, whilst there has been a steady rise in the number of LNG bunkering operations.

Currently, Skangas supplies vessels with LNG using the ship-to-ship delivery method in Gothenburg. During the third quarter of 2017, Skangas completed Gothenburg's first LNG bunkering whilst loading was taking place. The company's chartered vessel, the Coralius, also performed its first Gothenburg LNG bunker delivery and its first supply of LNG in open sea to a vessel that cooled down its tanks in order to switch from diesel oil to LNG, just outside Gothenburg.

Skangas has been joined in Gothenburg by Swedegas, which owns and runs the Swedish gas transmission network and which will be expanding the number of LNG supply options at the port with the construction of a facility designed to ensure safe and quick land-based LNG bunkering whilst vessels are loading and discharging at the Energy Port.

"With both Skangas and Swedegas operating at the Port of Gothenburg, we have two companies that complement each other with different offerings. Shipping lines now have a further incentive to consider switching to LNG," said Jill Soderwall, Vice President and Head of Commercial Operations at the Energy Port.

LNG will arrive at the new LNG facility by trailer or in containers, and will be distributed via a 450-metre vacuum-insulated cryogenic pipeline to the quayside.

The facility marks the first step in the construction of a broader solution for the gas infrastructure at the Port of Gothenburg, with the potential to connect to the gas transmission network. In time, Swedish industry and land transport could also make use of the facility.

"As is the case with the gas transmission network, in which both natural gas and biogas can be transported, the new facility will be flexible and can also be used for the storage and transport of renewable gas. Customers with access to the transmission network can already choose biogas, and this is something we are looking to extend to the shipping sector as the next step in their transition to environmentally correct alternatives," said Johan Zettergren, Swedegas Chief Executive.

The EU has assigned the project Project of Common Interest (PCI) status, which means that it is among the most prioritised infrastructure projects in Europe. The EU, via the INEA (Innovation and Networks Executive Agency), has also confirmed that support measures are in place to ensure the project reaches fruition.