The Cynergy liquefied natural gas project is being undertaken as part of the CyprusGas2EU programme. Image courtesy of Cynergy.
The LNG terminal will supply natural gas fuel to the Vassilikos power station. Image courtesy of Eli Shany.
The LNG import terminal will be capable of handling LNG carriers ranging between 120,000m³ and 217,000m³ in size. Image courtesy of Jens Schott Knudsen.

The Cynergy liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal is located in the island country of Cyprus. The project is being undertaken as part of the CyprusGas2EU programme, which aims to introduce natural gas to Cyprus for the first time.

The LNG import terminal is being developed by Natural Gas Infrastructure Company of Cyprus and is promoted by The Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism of the Republic of Cyprus (MECIT).

Recommended White Papers

View all

Estimated to cost £500m ($554m), the project will reduce the country’s dependence on imported oil and petroleum products and enable the switch to cleaner fuels, while significantly reducing carbon emissions.

The project will initially supply gas to the Vassilikos Power Station (VPS) and later to the Moni and Dhekelia power stations and independent power producers. It is scheduled for commissioning in 2021.

Cynergy LNG import terminal location and design details

The LNG import terminal will be constructed along the Vasiliko Port in Cyprus, which is operated by the Cyprus Ports Authority. It will include a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) comprising a gas export system and loading arm equipped with meters, gas compressors, filters, heaters, and export arm pipelines.

The FSRU will be permanently berthed in Vassilikos bay and have a storage capacity of 125,000m³. It will be capable of unloading LNG from LNG carriers ranging in size between 120,000m³ and 217,000m³.

The storage tanks of the FSRU will store the LNG at -165°C and convert it into natural gas through three regasification trains.

Marine infrastructure details

The project involves the construction of a jetty for permanent berthing of the FSRU, a trestle and mooring system, and LNG loading/unloading facilities. The jetty will be located 1.3km west of Limassol Port’s terminal-2 (Vasiliko) main breakwater.

The trestle will be 14m-wide and have a north-south orientation to form the FSRU berth, which will consist of a 30mx35m loading platform supported by piles. Ships will berth against four breasting dolphins equipped with fenders and quick release mooring hooks to accommodate spring lines of LNG carriers.

Pipeline infrastructure details

The Cynergy LNG import terminal will include a jetty borne gas pipeline, which will connect the FSRU to a receiving point located onshore. It will be made of carbon steel and will transfer the natural gas to a metering station.

The metering station will contain fiscal metering systems, safety isolation systems, and an emergency shutdown valve that will work as a fail-safe for the systems immediately downstream of the station.

The project will also include a pipeline storage array that will comprise a set of pipelines of varying lengths. It will store natural gas at different pressure ranges before transferring the same to VPS from the metering station.

Financing for Cynergy LNG import terminal

The project is co-financed by a 40% grant from the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) financing instrument.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a loan of up to £100m.

Contractors involved

A consortium led by China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Corporation (CPPEC) and comprising Wilhelmsen Ship Management, Aktor, Metron, and Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding was selected as the preferred bidder for the construction of the Cyprus LNG terminal. The contract is expected to be signed in October 2019.