Finland and Estonia sign FSRU deal with Excelerate to build Baltic Sea LNG hub

Finland has signed a 10-year charter agreement for a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and regasification vessel (FSRU) with Texas-based Excelerate Energy to process LNG imports and help replace Russian gas supply.

Excelerate, a US LNG company headquartered in The Woodlands, Houston, will deploy its FSRU Exemplar to the Baltic Sea region under the deal signed in Helsinki with a subsidiary of Gasgrid Finland Oy, both parties announced in a statement.

Finland finance minister Annika Saarikko welcomed the agreement and said in a statement: “The LNG terminal will make it possible for us to break free from Russian gas.”

Russia cut off gas supplies to Finland on May 21 in response to payment disputes coupled with fallout from Finland’s bid to join NATO. Finland's state-owned energy group Gasum said on Friday that Russia's Gazprom Export had informed it that natural gas supplies from Russia to Finland would be cut on Saturday.

Excelerate Energy’s agreement for the FSRU will also provide flexible, reliable, and secure LNG supplies to Estonia and the Baltic Sea Region. The Exemplar has storage capacity of 150 900 m3 of LNG and can provide more than 5 billion m3/y of regasification capacity.

“Flexible access to LNG is a critical component of European energy security,” Steven Kobos, President and Chief Executive Office of Excelerate, said in a statement.

“We are honoured to collaborate with Gasgrid Finland to deliver essential energy infrastructure that will benefit Finland and more broadly the Baltic Sea region. As a leader in flexible LNG solutions, Excelerate is proud to support the goals of the US-EU Task Force for Energy Security, which include diversifying LNG supplies in alignment with climate objectives,” he added.

As per the cooperation agreement, the FSRU may be located in an Estonian port this winter if the port structures are not yet completed in Finland.

“Leasing an LNG terminal vessel is extremely important, as it ensures security of supply for gas supplies in both Finland and Estonia. On the other hand, we see that there is a need for the terminal in the wider Baltic Sea region and it has been received with interest,” Olli Sipilä, CEO of Gasgrid, said in a statement.