Julia Merk Your Ref: 08.08.2022 No
Our Ref: 08.09.2022 No 1.15-5/2022/5006-
3
Reply to FOI request LNG infrastructure
Dear Ms Merk,
Thank you for your information request. Please find below our answers as far as we are able to
provide.
There is currently one ongoing LNG import terminal construction process in Estonia. The project
at Paldiski is estimated to be finished in November 2022 and the floating LNG terminal is expected
to be commissioned in December 2022 on either side of the Gulf of Finland (as the construction
works at Inkoo, in Finland are also expected to be ready at that time and the ship is rented by
Gasgrid Finland).
The location of the infrastructure in Estonia is at Paldiski. The LNG terminal project is privately
developed by Alexela Group and Infortar. But the Estonian government has increased the Estonian
Stockpiling Agency’s share capital by 38 million euroes and provided a mandate for signing
contracts meant to ensure that the mooring infrastructure and pipeline will be built in cooperation
of the private consortium mentioned above (Alexela and Infortar) and the electricity and gas
transmission system operator Elering, who is responsible for building the pipeline that would
connet the FSRU-based LNG import terminal in Paldiski to the Estonian gas grid. Both the
Estonian and Finnish terminals are linked to the BalticConnector, the undersea natural gas pipeline
connecting the gas networks of Estonia and Finland.
Publicly available information states that the terminal infrastructure costs up to 40 million euros.
This does not include the cost of renting the LNG carrier.
The LNG carrier, The Exemplar has been leased for ten years in order to regasify liquefied natural
gas (LNG) for Finland, Estonia and other Baltic nations. The FSRU can regasify more than five
billion cubic meters per year and the Exemplar has a volume of nearly 151 000 cubic meters or 68
000 tonnes of LNG. The Finnish company Gasgrid Finland Oy estimates that the total costs of the
LNG terminal ship project will be approximately 460 million euros under the ten-year lease
agreement. There will also be costs related to the volume of use.
According to the knowledge available to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure of
Suur-Ameerika 1 / 10122 Tallinn / ESTONIA
Phone: +372 625 6342 / Fax: +372 631 3660 / E-mail:
[email protected] / http://www.mkm.ee
Estonia, currently there are no projects planned regarding the import of hydrogen in the LNG
Terminal nor tests or feasibility studies carried out for this conversion.
Estonia is largely in favour of further reducing gas consumption (including LNG) and fuel
switching wherever available and this year the gas consumption reduction has already been
impressive as we have recorded more than a 16% reduction and during the next 12 months
Estonia’s gas consumption may even drop below 4 TWh/y (historically it has been around 5
TWh/y). As Estonia does not own gas production facilities, 100% of the gas consumed in Estonia
is imported either via pipelines from Latvia (as the import and transit of Russian pipeline gas to
Estonia is expected to be banned by the end of this year) or through BalticConnector from Finland.
From December the large-scale LNG import capability is expected to be available, but whether
and when it will be in use, is unclear.
We hope this has been helpful and in case there are further questions of specifications, please be
in contact!
With best regards,
(signed digitally)
Jaanus Uiga
Director of Energy Department
Liis Kilk
[email protected]
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