Rhys BerryThe operator of Lithuania’s Klaipėda LNG terminal, Klaipedos Nafta, says customers have fully booked its regasification capacity for this gas year, which runs until 30 September.
According to the latest customer requests, a total of 23.9 Terawatt-hour (TWh) of capacity has been allocated for the current gas year.
During the 2021 annual capacity allocation procedure, 8.9 TWh of LNG terminal regasification capacity was pre-booked by customers for the gas year starting on 1 October 2021.
In March-September, Klaipėda LNG terminal is expected to receive 20 large-scale LNG cargoes and perform onw reloading operation. All the planned cargo reception windows are dedicated for the large gas carriers carrying LNG cargoes of at least 138,000 cubic metres.
As previously reported, earlier this month, Klaipedos Nafta suspended acceptance of Novatek cargoes.
‘Two factors have contributed to the increased interest in LNG terminal services,’ said Mindaugas Navikas, Klaipedos Nafta Chief Commercial Officer ‘Firstly, the war in Ukraine has made it even more important for the companies operating in the Baltic region to secure a reliable alternative source of gas supply. In addition, the earlier announcement of the start of operations of the Polish-Lithuanian gas pipeline (GIPL) link is creating opportunities for businesses to take advantage of new emerging opportunities.
Navikas continued: ‘It is worth noting that, although the terminal capacity is already fully booked, market participants who have not done so can negotiate with each other to purchase or swap quantities of gas delivered at the terminal, or to purchase terminal capacity on the secondary market. KN, for its part, is also evaluating additional opportunities of the terminal to meet the changing market demand.’
According to Navikas, taking into account the increased needs of market participants, the assessment is currently underway on how to optimise the cargo receiving processes so that the LNG terminal could receive additional LNG quantities by the end of the gas year. The possibility of expanding Klaipėda LNG terminal’s technical regasification capacity from the current 3.75 billion cubic metres to 5 billion cubic metres in the long term is also under consideration.
Ariane Morrissey
