The Swedish port is preparing an application for obtaining an environmental permit concerning the setup of the facility, as well as will hold a public consultation about the project.

The terminal is to be erected in two phases - the first one is scheduled for completion in 2020, while the other will come online three years later.

The new facility will cater for LNG bunkering, along with delivering natural gas in gaseous form via a pipeline to the nearby facility of SSAB, a Swedish-Finnish company specialised in processing raw material to steel, where it will replace oil and coke.

ESL Shipping, a Finnish dry bulk carrier that takes care of SSAB's transports to Oxelösund on a regular basis, will start operating two LNG-run ships next year.

"The planned LNG terminal is a future-oriented investing. Alternative types of ship fuel require new infrastructure, hence our scheme to build such a facility will be in line with the requirements put on the shipping lines that face the changeover challenge," Erik Zetterlund, CEO, the Port of Oxelösund, commented.

He also said, "Carbon dioxide emissions are often reduced by as much as 50% when using LNG. Moreover, biogas is essentially the same thing as renewable methane. As such, the planned infrastructure is a big step toward reducing the CO2 footprint."

Photo: COWI