Lithuania’s KN said that four firms have won capacity rights at the 170,000-cbm FSRU Independence in Klaipeda after the completion of the 2024 capacity allocation procedure.
KN said in a statement that the LNG terminal’s 6 terawatt-hour (TWh) regasification capacity for the 2024 gas year has been allocated to four customers from Lithuania and Estonia.
In 2024, KN expects that the FSRU will receive 34 conventional LNG cargoes during the period and regasify a total of about 34 TWh of natural gas.
Customers from Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland, which booked long-term LNG terminal capacity last year, will receive most of the natural gas, or 24 TWh, KN said.
Poland’s PGNiG and Latvia’s Latvenergo previously each secured 6 TWh of regasification capacity for a period of ten years at the FSRU-based facility.
KN plans to allocate a further 4 TWh of capacity from the spot market over the next year, based on the need to import natural gas to ensure the isolated operation of the electricity system and, in the absence of such a need, to meet natural gas demand on a case by case basis.
Six firms to use Klaipeda LNG terminal
“The global natural gas market is still full of uncertainties, therefore it is of utmost importance that in such turbulent times Klaipeda LNG terminal operates smoothly and almost at maximum capacity, and KN fully ensures the provision of regasification services in line with the needs of the regional market,” Mindaugas Navikas, chief commercial officer of KN, said.
Navikas said that a total of 6 customers will use the LNG terminal services next year.
He said that the capacity allocation model, which the firm updated in 2022, has contributed to the stability in the use of the LNG terminal.
This model allows the terminal users to “plan their cargo deliveries accurately, thus ensuring a reliable natural gas supply at the most competitive price on the market for the customers in Lithuania and the surrounding countries,” Navikas said.
40 LNG carriers planned for this year
From the beginning of the year until July 23, the FSRU-based LNG terminal has received 20 large LNG carriers, and KN expects the same number of LNG carriers to arrive by the end of the year.
During this period, the terminal received 2.9 million cubic meters of LNG, with the majority, or 48 percent, coming from Norway.
In 2023, the FSRU also received shipments from the USA, Nigeria, and Algeria.
KN expects that the terminal will regasify about 37 TWh of natural gas this year.
By comparison, in 2022, 46 LNG carriers brought in almost 5 million cubic meters of LNG, with the majority, or 65 percent, coming from the USA.
Last year, the LNG terminal regasified a total of 32.1 TWh of natural gas.