Finland’s New Inkoo Terminal Accepts First LNG

Finland’s new Inkoo floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) terminal on Sunday accepted its first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The cargo, which was ordered by Elenger, the largest privately owned energy company in the Finnish-Baltic region, was delivered by multinational energy and commodity trading company Vitol.

The cargo, which originates from Vitol’s Venture Global Calcasieu Pass facility in the U.S., was transported aboard Vitol's LNG carrier Vivit Americas LNG. The Malta-registered vessel was built in 2020, is 299 meters long and 46 meters wide, and has capacity for 174,062 cubic meters (cbm) of LNG.

The cargo is the first commercial shipment at Inkoo for Excelerate Energy's 150,900-cbm FSRU Exemplar, which serves Gasgrid’s import facility in Inkoo under a 10-year, €460 million charter deal.

Pablo Galante Escobar, Head of LNG & European Gas and Power, Vitol said, “Vitol is delighted to deliver the first LNG cargo to Elenger via Finland’s Inkoo terminal. The opening of the terminal will enhance energy security in Finland and the Baltic region, facilitating the flow of LNG from around the world to European industry and consumers.”

“As one of the few energy companies operating in the region, we purchase gas directly from the Western sources, this allows us to offer our customers greater security and better prices, and has significantly increased our market share in Finland and the Baltic countries over the past year,” said Pasi Näkki, CEO of Elenger Finland. “Until today we have used the port of Klaipeda in Lithuania to bring gas from the United States and Norway, now we start cooperation with the Inkoo terminal too and also with a new supplier in addition to our current partner Equinor from Norway – a global energy company Vitol.”

Elenger has signed agreements with LNG terminals to deliver a total of 10 cargoes by the fall of this year – three deliveries have already arrived in Lithuania’s Klaipeda port in January and March, and a total of seven deliveries will arrive in Finland’s Inkoo port in the spring and summer.

Last year, Elenger procured five large shiploads of gas for its customers through the port of Klaipeda.