During its ten years of operations, the Klaipeda liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal has generated major benefits for Lithuania’s economy and the country’s consumers, Darius Silenskis, CEO of KN Energies (formerly Klaipedos Nafta), which operates the terminal, said on Friday.
“We estimate that since the terminal’s arrival, it and the quay infrastructure have generated benefits for the Lithuanian economy and its consumers of around 160 million euros per year, not counting maintenance costs,” Silenskis declared at a news conference in Klaipeda.
“There’s no doubt that the presence of this terminal has added huge added value for the Lithuanian economy, for businesses and for consumers of gas,” he added.
The floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) docked at Klaipeda in 2014, and KN Energies says that since them, Russia’s Gazprom, formerly Lithuania’s exclusive provider of natural gas, has been forced to cut prices by 30-40%.
Jurgita Silinskaite-Vensloviene, chief corporate affairs officer at KN Energies, says that the terminal’s total economic benefit for Lithuania has exceeded EUR 1 billion over the past decade.
“We used to pay EUR 160 million more than other Western European countries,” she said. “It was the highest price in Europe and the second highest worldwide.”
Silenskis said that Lithuania and the other Baltic states will need the FSRU at least until the year 2040.
“That will depend greatly on the pace of the green transition,” he explained. “In any case we’ll adapt to market needs, monitor demand, and make according decisions.”
The CEO also said that the LNG termina has allowed KN Energies to become one of the world’s largest operators of such facilities.
Lithuania will take over ownership of Independence on December 6 from Norwegian owner Hoegh LNG. Silenskis says that this will increase the overall tonnage of Lithuania’s fleet by 30%.
Source: BNS
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