6. NATURAL GAS

Recent changes in network

Traditionally, winter gas has been supplied from the Inčukalns underground storage facilities via the connection at Karksi (which has a technical entry-point capacity of 7.0 mcm/day), with gas supplies in the remainder of the year (May to October) coming directly from Russia through the Värska and Narva connections (with capacities of 4 mcm/d and 3 mcm/d, respectively). However, starting in the second half of 2016, gas import flows changed considerably, as the gas supplied directly from Russia became cheaper relative to gas supplied via Latvia (including Lithuania), due to higher transmission tariffs. This resulted in the Värska connection becoming the main route of supply, with the Karksi connection providing additional capacity when needed. Moreover, starting from 1 January 2019, the Narva interconnector became technically no longer able to serve as an entry point for gas supply to Estonia due to changes made to the line within the Russian territory (Elering, 2018). However, this situation is set to change significantly with the development of a regional gas market under the Balticconnector project with Finland (see section on “Infrastructure developments: Regional network interconnections” below).

LNG terminal

Estonia does not have an LNG terminal; however, it is connected to the Klaipeda LNG terminal in Lithuania. Commissioned at the end of 2014, the Klaipeda LNG terminal consists of a floating storage and regasification unit with a total capacity of up to 10.25 mcm/d and has LNG storage for 170 000 m3. Owned by Leigh Höegh LNG (Norway), Klaipeda has primarily been supplied by the Norwegian LNG, but began to diversify its sources, including receiving its first cargo from the United States in late 2017.

Estonia is also studying the possibility of establishing an on-shore LNG terminal in Paldiski, the location of Estonia’s planned Balticconnector compressor station. Planned to be commissioned by the first half of 2021, the project would have a regasification capacity of 4 mcm/d in a first stage, and could potentially be extended to 14 mcm/d in a second stage, depending on market conditions.

89

ENERGY SECURITY