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The vessel that in September supplied liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the world's first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation between two independent ocean-going vessels, the Skangas-operated Coral Energy, has this week achieved another milestone by being the first small-scale LNG tanker to load LNG at the port of Klaipeda, Lithuania.

UAB Litgas, the natural gas supply and trading arm of the state energy group Lietuvos Energija (Lithuanian Energy), supplied the gas-powered Coral Energy with around 15,000 cubic metres of LNG, which is to be transported to a terminal in the Black Sea.

In a statement, Litgas said: "It is a new activity in Lithuania and the Baltic countries. The Klaipeda LNG terminal is currently the only one in the Baltic Sea that can load LNG onto smaller gas carriers."

"It will bring additional income to the country," commented Lietuvos Energija CEO Dalius Misiunas.

The Coral Energy, owned by Anthony Veder, is the first small LNG tanker loaded under an agreement signed last September by Litgas, Lietuvos Duju Tiekimas (Lithuanian Gas Supply) and Norway's Statoil. Under the three-way agreement, Statoil sells LNG to small-scale buyers and Litgas and Lietuvos Duju Tiekimas provide modulation and balancing services.

Litgas's cooperation with Statoil

The concept of a joint cooperation to develop an LNG bunkering service in Lithuania was identified in a five-year supply contract signed by Litgas and Statoil in August 2014.

As part of the agreement, Statoil was contracted to supply an annual volume of 540 million cubic metres (cbm) of natural gas (approximately 950,000 cbm of LNG) to ensure the continuous operation of the Klaipeda LNG terminal.

This was followed in July 2015, when Litgas, Lietuvos Energija and Statoil signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up a joint venture company in Lithuania to provide small-scale LNG bunkering.

EU funding for LNG project

In November, Bunker Index reported that the European Commission's (EC) Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) had confirmed a grant agreement to fund Klaipedos Nafta's LNG infrastructure project. The EUR 4 million is to be used to develop an LNG reloading station, small-scale LNG equipment for Klaipedos Nafta's LNG Terminal and LNG jetty equipment.

The construction of the company's LNG reloading station is ongoing and is scheduled to begin operating in the second half of 2017.

The contract to build the facility was awarded in February to Chart Ferox, a subsidiary of Chart Industries Inc., along with EPC consortium partner PPS Pipeline Systems Germany. The LNG regasification facility will have the capacity to supply natural gas at a rate of 6,000 normal metres cubed (Nm3) per hour. The current plant design also has a provision for future expansion, which could double the station's storage capacity.