Poland has signed contracts worth $483 million, significantly investing in expanding its liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Swinoujscie, according to Reuters.

Gaz-System and the ports of Szczecin and Swinoujscie signed the contract with a consortium of Porr and TGE Gas Engineering for the expansion project.

The expansion will see the LNG’s terminal increase capacity by 3.3 billion cubic metres (bcm) from 5 bcm to 8.3 bcm by 2023. This significant expansion is in response to a rise in domestic demand and also an effort to reduce reliance on Russian imports. At present more than half of Poland’s domestic consumption hails from abroad. 

“The terminal gives us the flexibility of receiving gas from different parts of the world,” Piotr Naimski, Polish minister for energy infrastructure, said in a news conference.

With the announcement of this extension project, state-run gas company PGNiG does not intend to extend its gas supply deal with Russian Gazprom, which expires in 2022. The future deficit of natural gas that Poland cannot produce itself will be provided by Norway instead of Russia.