Finland Opens First LNG Terminal

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Finland has officially opened its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at the oil and chemical harbour Tahkoluoto in the port of Pori, as the country attempts to cut its reliance on Russian oil and gas imports.

Owned by Finnish gas utility Gasum (Espoo, Finland), the receiving terminal has a capacity of 30,000 cubic metres and is designed to supply LNG to industrial, maritime and heavy-duty road transport customers outside the gas pipeline network. It will be operated by Gasum subsidiary Skangas AS (Tannager, Norway).

"The opening of the Pori LNG terminal will develop and diversify the Finnish energy market," said Johanna Lamminen, chair of the Skangas board of directors and chief executive officer of Gasum. "The option of LNG deliveries outside the gas pipeline network lowers the threshold for the utilisation of gas throughout the country. It's great that the terminal is now opened on schedule and without any accidents resulting in absence from work."

The project cost slightly more than 80 million euro ($90 million), aided by a financial grant of 23 million euro ($26 million) from the Finnish Ministry for Employment and the Economy. The terminal received its first cargo of LNG from Zeebrugge in Belgium during the summer. In 2014, Finland announced that it would support the construction of three new LNG terminals, including Pori. Two others will be constructed at Rauma and Tornio. They will significantly reduce the industrial use of fuel oil and LPG in Finland, according to the government.

The European Union (EU) relies heavily on Russia for its gas supplies, but political issues have led to severe gas shortages in the past. The region has embarked on a wide-ranging plan to reduce its reliance on Russia. Europe is the biggest importer of natural gas in the world, with gas representing around a quarter of the EU's overall energy consumption. The region's LNG import capacity is robust and can meet around 43% of total current gas demand. However, regions including the southeast of Europe, central-eastern Europe and the Baltic do not have LNG terminals and continue to be almost wholly reliant on Russian imports.

Launching the EU's LNG strategy earlier this year, Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete said: "After the gas crises of 2006 and 2009 that left many millions out in the cold, we said: 'Never again.' But the stress tests of 2014 showed we are still far too vulnerable to major disruption of gas supplies. And the political tensions on our borders are a sharp reminder that this problem will not just go away."

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