Finland, Estonia publish MoU on LNG terminal ship leasing co-op

Finland and Estonia on Friday published a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding cooperation on leasing a LNG terminal ship.

The MOU was signed by Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä and Estonia’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Taavi Aas, said the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in a press release.

Leasing a floating storage regasification unit for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the fastest way to phase out dependency on Russian pipeline gas. The aim is to have the terminal ship available for use next winter. Leasing the ship enables Finland to reduce its dependency on Russian pipeline gas.

At the meeting on 7 April 2022, the Government’s Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy recommended that Finland lease a large LNG terminal ship in cooperation with Estonia.

The premise for leasing the ship and the practical implementation of cooperation are agreed on in the MOU.

The terminal ship would be located on Finland’s south coast in the immediate vicinity of the natural gas network.

The necessary port structures and connection to the gas network would be built in Finland and Estonia. It is important that the terminal could be in use already next winter. For this reason, the terminal ship would be located in an Estonian port next winter if the port construction is completed in Estonia before Finland.

Gas transmission operator Gasgrid Finland Oy was given the task to assess and negotiate, in cooperation with the Estonian transmission network company Elering AS, the terms for leasing an LNG terminal ship and with implementing the project as fast as possible to guarantee security of supply, in particular.

Finland and Estonia also signed a treaty under the EU Security of Gas Supply Regulation on solidarity measures to ensure the security of gas supply. It lays down a framework for applying the solidarity mechanism as a last resort in serious disruptions in gas supply.