Gasgrid Finland Oy and Elering AS have signed a cooperation agreement on 4 May 2022 regarding the practical implementation of the renting of a LNG floating terminal (FSRU).
On 7 April 2022, the Finnish Government’s Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy approved measures to lease a large-scale LNG floating terminal in co-operation with Estonia. Gasgrid Finland was tasked to research and negotiate the renting of the floating terminal together with the Estonian gas transmission system operator Elering AS as soon as possible in this sudden and unforeseen situation. Leasing a large-scale LNG floating terminal is the fastest way for Finland to distance itself from the dependence on Russian gas.
“The project is progressing as planned and in very good cooperation with Elering AS. This continues the good co-operation that was also done with Balticconnector. The rapid response of the Finnish and Estonian governments to the changed situation was crucial. It has been great to see the positive reception we have received as well as the support to promote the project among various stakeholders. We will proceed in stages and inform about the matter as soon as possible so that stakeholders can prepare for their own actions,” comments Olli Sipilä, CEO of Gasgrid Finland.
“Elering’s vision has always been a unified Estonian-Finnish electricity and gas market. Unified market needs unified infrastructure. Together with Gasgrid Finland and Fingrid, we have invested approximately 1 billion euros in the construction of electricity and gas connections between Estonia and Finland. The common LNG terminal is the next step in the list of cooperation projects to ensure the security of supply for Estonian and Finnish consumers. As Estonian president Lennart Meri has said – “everything that is useful for Estonia, is useful for Finland” and vice versa”, says Elering AS’s CEO Taavi Veskimägi.
The floating terminal is scheduled to be commissioned next winter on the southern coast of Finland, or if that is not possible, in Estonia before the completion of the Finnish structures. The necessary port structures and connection to the gas network would be built in both Finland and Estonia.
On 29 April 2022, the states of Finland and Estonia also published a memorandum of understanding on co-operation to rent a LNG floating terminal.
More information
Olli Sipilä, CEO, Gasgrid Finland, +358 40 589 4686, olli.sipila@gasgrid.fi
Elo Ellermaa, Communications Project Manager, Elering AS, +372 5347 9783, elo.ellermaa@elering.ee
