First stage of Paldiski LNG terminal completed

  • 2022-08-31
  • LETA/ERR/TBT Staff

TALLINN - Phase one of the construction of a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in Estonian the port city of Paldiski is to be completed today, Estonian Televsion (ETV) reports.

The work has gone to plan, Pakrineeme Sadam, the company overseeing the terminal, informs. "This is a mooring pier, to which an almost 400m-long gas tanker, or Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FRSU) ship will be anchored."

"Following that, a waterborne connection is created via a gas pipeline which connects directly to the [land-based] compressor station and then the Balticconnector [Finland-Estonia undersea gas pipeline]," the company said.

Estonian gas and electricity supplier Elering says the ship-to-shore pipeline will be finished by November 30, while Estonian investors say that the overall facility at Paldiski will be ready earlier than its equivalent on the other side of the Gulf of Finland, at Inkoo.

A spokesperson for Finnish natural gas supplier Gasgrid said that both terminals will be ready by December, providing a choice, meaning Paldiski may remain a back-up terminal for now.

Timo Tatar, deputy secretary general for energy at the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, said that: "One aspect of the agreement is that over the longer term, this vessel will remain in the market where consumption is higher, which is definitely the Finnish side. Even if the infrastructure here on the Estonian side should end up without a ship for a large part of the time, however, from the point of view of Estonia's energy security, it will definitely bring an important contribution in any case."

Latvia also hopes to get deliveries from the Paldiski LNG terminal once it has been constructed.