US-based LNG company, Excelerate Energy Inc. signed a ten-year deal with a subsidiary of Gasgrid Finland to charter a floating storage and regasification vessel (FSRU) that will provide flexible, reliable, and secure liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Finland, Estonia, and the Baltic Sea region allowing to end Russian natural gas imports.
Under the time charter party agreement, Excelerate will deploy its FSRU Exemplar to provide regasification services in Southern Finland. The Exemplar has storage capacity of 150,900 m3 of LNG and can provide more than 5 billion cubic meters per year (bcm/y) of regasification capacity.
On May 4 Gasgrid Finland and Estonia’s gas transmission operator Elering AS signed a cooperation agreement that the FSRU may be located in an Estonian port this winter if the port structures are not yet completed in Finland. The Governments of Finland and Estonia published a memorandum of understanding on April 29 agreeing to jointly lease an FSRU.
“Flexible access to LNG is a critical component of European energy security,” said Steven Kobos, President and Chief Executive Officer of Excelerate. “We are honoured to collaborate with Gasgrid Finland to deliver essential energy infrastructure that will benefit Finland and more broadly the Baltic Sea region.”
The CEO of Excelerate underlined that the deal also supports the goals of the U.S.-EU Task Force for Energy Security, which include diversifying LNG supplies in alignment with climate objectives.
“Finland and Estonia account for roughly 3 billion cubic meters of demand per year and the tanker can deliver 5 billion cubic meters per year, that’s around 52 cargoes, according to company figures,” Excelerate’s CEO Steven Kobos told Bloomberg.
Olli Sipilä, CEO of Gasgrid noted that the parties were able to sign the agreement on a fast schedule. “Leasing an LNG terminal vessel is extremely important, as it ensures the security of supply for gas supplies in both Finland and Estonia. On the other hand, we see that there is a need for the terminal in the wider Baltic Sea region and it has been received with interest,” highlighted the CEO of the Finnish transmission system operator.
Finland is the third European country to lose gas from Russia after refusing to pay for the fuel in rubles. Russia’s Gazprom said to halt gas flows to Finland on Saturday. The majority of gas used in Finland comes from Russia but gas only accounts for about 5 per cent of its annual energy consumption.
