Polish natural gas company PGNiG "absolutely" needs to build a long-planned liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal on the Baltic coast, the company's new deputy chief executive was quoted as saying.

Officials from the ruling Civic Platform party have signalled since taking power last year that they will review the 85-percent state-owned company's plan to spend 440 million eur on the terminal and may even shelve the project.

Last week the state-dominated supervisory board picked company insider Michal Szubski as its new chief executive and reshuffled the management board appointed by the previous government.

"The LNG terminal is absolutely vital for the company and Poland. It seems everyone is agreed on this, from politicians to engineers," new deputy chief executive Miroslaw Dobrut told the Parkiet daily.

Dobrut is the first new member of the board to give a clear opinion on the issue.

PGNiG wants to build an LNG terminal in Swinoujscie on the Baltic coast by the end of 2011 and will buy 2.5 billion cubic meters of liquefied gas per year as part of Poland's strategy to limit its dependence on imports from Russia.

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Related Project
Polskie LNG (PLNG)
Facility Type: LNG Owner: PGNiG SA (Polish Oil & Gas Co.)
Scope: New Construction Location: Swinoujscie Poland