Finland's New FSRU Arrives, Replacing Russian Gas Imports

As part of its efforts to diversify its energy supply, Finland has welcomed its first ever floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) for natural gas imports. 

Gasgrid Finland has chartered the FSRU Exemplar from Excelerate Energy for a period of 10 years. It will help supply the gas needs of customers in Finland and Estonia. Exemplar can receive and regasify about five bcm worth of natural gas per year - enough to supply the entire demand for gas in both nations, with capacity left over.

"The floating terminal vessel turned out to be the fastest and most effective solution to phase out dependency on Russian gas in Finland and to ensure the continuity of gas supplies," said Finnish utility Gasgrid Finland. 

On December 28, the special-purpose vessel anchored in the harbor at Inkoo, Finland in preparation for hookup. Gasgrid just completed the land-side and harbor-side portion of the terminal last week in anticipation of the FSRU's arrival. Contractors completed the job in just five months' time, starting in August and finishing in December. The scope included mooring dolphins, a pier and about a mile of pipeline to connect the receiving station to the gas mains. Contractors drove more than 110 piles, each 100 feet long, to affix the dolfins to hard rock below the surface. 

Just in time, Gasgrid received its operating permit from Finnish safety authority TUKES last week, paving the way for commissioning. 

"Our goal the whole time has been to be able to start using the liquefied natural gas aboard the LNG terminal vessel already this winter. We are now very close," said Gasgrid Finland CEO Olli Sipila last week.