Last month, the operator of Lithuania’s Klaipeda LNG terminal, Klaipedos Nafta (KN) and transmission system operator, Amber Grid, announced plans to “evaluate possibilities to expand current Klaipeda LNG terminal re-gasification capacity as well capacity of the gas transmission system in relevant entry and exit points and create the possibility to book additional LNG import capacity in the future”.
The expansion of the terminal is estimated to boost LNG import capacity of up to 2.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year starting from the 2nd half of 2026, according to preliminary studies.
As the first step towards this potential expansion, KN and Amber Grid aim to assess the market participants’ demand for expanded capacity. As part of this, the operators have launched a joint process of Open Season Procedure at the LNG terminal and Lithuanian gas transmission system.
The procedure began with a non-binding phase and will subsequently proceed with a binding phase if sufficient demand for additional capacity is identified during the non-binding phase.
The non-binding phase of the Open Season Procedure started on 19 December and will last until 1 February 2023. An announcement on the decision to conduct the binding phase of the Open Season Procedure is expected to follow and be published by 1 March 2023.
