Finland and Estonia are jointly planning to lease a nearly 300-meter-long liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal to secure gas imports following Russia’s recent cut-off.
Russia stopped exporting LNG to Finland in May, threatening some industries, including the gas-based bakery, forest and oil industries.
The floating LNG terminal will be docked in the South Harbor of Inkoo according to the energy companies Gasgrid Finland and Fortum.
"The vessel project is absolutely vital to the security of natural gas supply in the Baltic Sea region – and therefore very urgent. I am glad that the decision on the location of the terminal was made [on] such a quick schedule. As the need for the terminal covers the entire Baltic Sea area, Inkoo offers the ship an excellent location," CEO of Gasgrid, Olli Sipilä said in a statement.
Gasgrid will lease the Exemplar vessel from Excelerate Energy for 10 years, and the terminal says the terminal will be available in the winter.
Minister for Economic Affairs of Finland Mika Lintiläexpressed its support for the new arrangement and thanked both companies for it "for rapid action."
"It is important for our economy that the floating LNG terminal ensures the gas supply of our industry. The next step is to stay on schedule and get the port ready," Lintilä said in a press release.
The Exemplar is massive, 291 meters long and 43 meters wide, with a gas storage capacity of 151,000 cubic meters.
With an LNG capacity of about 68,00 tonnes, or more than 40 TWh per year, it will be able to meet Finland’s annual demand for liquefied natural gas on its own.
Historically, Finland’s annual demand for natural gas has been about 25 TWh per year.
Source: The Nordic Page