Finland’s new Inkoo terminal accepts first LNG

Finland’s new Inkoo Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) terminal accepted its first load of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on Sunday.

The cargo, which was ordered by Elenger, the largest private energy company in the Finnish-Baltic region, was delivered by multinational energy and commodities trading company Vitol.

The cargo, originating from Vitol’s Venture Global Calcasieu Pass facility in the US, was transported aboard Vitol’s LNG carrier America’s LNG lives on. The Malta registered ship built in 2020, is 299 meters long and 46 meters wide and has a capacity for 174,062 cubic meters (cbm) of LNG.

The cargo is the first commercial delivery at Inkoo for Excelerate Energy’s 150,900 cbm FSRU specimen serving Gasgrid’s import facility at Inkoo at a 10-year charter contract worth 460 million euros.

Pablo Galante Escobar, Head of LNG & European Gas and Power at Vitol, said: “Vitol is pleased to deliver the first LNG cargo to Elenger via the Finnish Inkoo terminal. The opening of the terminal will improve energy security in Finland and the Baltics and facilitate the flow of LNG from around the world to European industry and consumers.”

“As one of the few energy companies operating in the region, we source gas directly from western sources. This allows us to offer our customers more security and better prices, and we have significantly increased our market share in Finland and the Baltic countries over the past year,” said Pasi Näkki, CEO of Elenger Finland. “Up to now we have been using the port of Klaipeda in Lithuania to bring gas from the United States and Norway, now we are also starting cooperation with the Inkoo terminal and, in addition to our current partner Equinor from Norway, also with a new supplier – one global energy company Vitol.”

Elenger has signed agreements with LNG terminals to deliver a total of 10 shipments by autumn this year – three shipments have already arrived at the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda in January and March, and a total of seven shipments will arrive at the Finnish port of Inkoo in spring and summer.

Last year, Elenger procured five large shiploads of gas for its customers via the port of Klaipeda.