Russian gas flows to Latvia via Luhamaa for first time since March

RIGA - For the first time since the end of March, Russian gas started to flow to Latvia via the Luhamaa connection last Saturday, according to information available on the website of Conexus Baltic Grid (Conexus) gas transmission operator. 

Natural gas continued to flow through the connection also on Sunday and Monday. 

Approved nominations and allocations totaled 104,000 KWh on Saturday and 3.2 GWh on Sunday. On Monday, nominations came to 3.2 GWh, but there was no information yet on allocations. 

This, however, is a small volume of natural gas in comparison with gas volumes that used to flow through the connection until March 31. In the second half of March, the capacities of the approved nominations and allocations ranged from 24 GWh to 55 GWh per day. 

Conexus representatives told LETA that as the unified gas transmission and storage system operator, the company provides access to infrastructure for the transportation and storage of gas, which is the traders' property. The existing legislation does not ban gas supply from Russia and the choice of a gas supplier is up to the traders. 

Conexus also noted that Gas Interconnection Poland-Lithuania (GIPL), a gas pipeline connecting Lithuania and Poland, was also launched on Sunday, May 1. This new connection broadens gas supply possibilities for the Baltic region, connecting the Klaipeda LNG terminal and the Finnish-Estonian connection Balticconnector. 

As reported, the Saeima has approved amendments to the Energy Law banning Russian gas imports, but it is still not clear when exactly the ban might take effect. The government has said that the ban might be enacted as of 2023. It is expected that the issue will be decided during the third and final reading of the draft legislation in the Saeima.