Finland not keen to discuss agreement on LNG terminal right now

  • 2022-09-28
  • BNS/TBT Staff

TALLINN – Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said in parliament question time  on Wednesday that she wants to discuss an intergovernmental agreement regarding the liquefied natural gas (LNG) floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) and the mooring quays for the unit with Finland, but the other party has not been very willing to communicate on the subject.

Kallas told MPs that as long as the existing accord has not been changed, it continues to be valid.

"We have made such a letter of intent with the Finns that whoever gets the mooring quay ready first, the floating regasification vessel, or FSRU, will be moored there," she said.

"This agreement with Finland, I really also want to talk about it at my level, but the Finns have not been very willing to communicate on this subject at the moment and this is definitely a problem," the premier said. 

Putting a question to the prime minister, opposition Center Party MP Jaak Aab said that at Tuesday's meeting of the Riigikogu finance committee, attended by Taavi Veskimagi, the CEO of Estonian system operator Elering; Marti Haal, the CEO of Alexela; Margus Kaasik, the CEO of Eesti Gaas; and Timo Tatar, deputy secretary general for energy at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, he was left with the impression that the FSRU will end up going to Finland after all. 

In particular, Tatar explained that Finland and Estonia are guided by the concept agreed in the spring that the gas reception capacities on both sides of the Gulf of Finland are viewed as a comprehensive Gulf of Finland LNG terminal infrastructure.

According to the chief energy official of Estonia, there is no big difference for the security of supply of Estonia on which shore of the gulf the regasification vessel is moored, whereas from the point of view of the security of supply in Finland, there may be a problem if the vessel is on the Estonian side, as the throughput capacity of the Balticconnector undersea gas pipeline between the two countries is limited. 

"If the terminal is located on the Finnish side, the Balticconnector will not create such a bottleneck in the direction of Estonia, simply because Estonia's gas consumption is so small," he noted.