Anna Shiryaevskaya and Kati Pohjanpalo, Bloomberg News

HELSINKI/LONDON
EnergiesNet.comn 12 26 2022

Finland is set to receive a vital floating liquefied natural gas terminal within about a week, helping ensure supplies for the country amid Europe’s energy crunch.

The floating storage and regasification unit, named Exemplar, will help supply gas to the Nordic country after imports from Russia ended in May. The supplies are vital for industries including forestry and steelmaking, though natural gas accounts for just about 5% of Finland’s energy mix. Gas is mainly used by factories, rather than for heating like in many other European nations.

Exemplar — provided by Excelerate Energy Inc. — set sail from Gibraltar and is set to berth in southern Finland on Dec. 25-28, carrying a full load of LNG, Gasgrid Finland Oy said on Tuesday. The date depends on weather during the journey, the state-owned company said, adding that the port structures and a 2.2-kilometer (1.4-mile) connecting pipeline have been completed.

When moored, the facility will convert LNG back into a gaseous state and push it into the country’s gas network, and even help serve Baltic countries and Poland via the Balticconnector undersea pipeline. It can carry about 68,000 tons of LNG when fully loaded.

Finland also has an LNG terminal in Hamina connected to the grid, while terminals in Pori and Tornio serve local heavy industry.

Europe has turned to LNG to fill the gap from lost Russian gas supplies in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine. Floating LNG units are faster and cheaper to install than land-based terminals. 

bloomberg.com 12 20 2022