Nordic energy company Gasum is delivering a cargo of liquefied natural gas  to the Inkoo floating storage regasification unit . The cargo has arrived on 10 January and unloading is carried out in due course. At the FSRU the LNG is regasified and fed into the Finnish gas pipeline grid.

This is the fourth large LNG cargo Gasum has delivered to the Inkoo FRSU since the Balticconnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia suffered a rupture and was shut down in early October. In addition, Gasum delivered a smaller 100 GWh cargo with its own LNG vessel Coral Energy early January to Gasgrid to ensure system balancing and mitigating the risk of inadequate gas during the extraordinarily cold period. While the pipeline is being repaired, all Finnish natural gas demand must be met through imports of LNG.

“We have been working hard to secure supply of natural gas during the winter season to our customers, whose operations depend on a steady supply of gas. The cold period has increased local gas demand and thus, we are very pleased that we were able to secure the required ice-classified LNG vessels for the winter season with the offer coming from SEFE Marketing & Trading Ltd. This transaction highlights the importance of a broad cooperation network in challenging situations”, says Jouni Liimatta, Head of Trading and Optimizing at Gasum.

The LNG cargo is approximately 800 GWh in size, it is supplied by Gasum’s new LNG trading partner SEFE Marketing & Trading Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of SEFE (Securing Energy for Europe) and comes from the USA. SEFE is a German state-owned multinational energy company with a presence in Europe, Asia and the US.

“Thanks to SEFE’s technical and logistical expertise, we can fulfil our mission even during harsh winters in Northern Europe and reliably supply the markets in Finland and neighbouring countries with LNG. SEFE is proud to be able to support Gasum and the energy security of the region.” comments Frederic Barnaud, Chief Commercial Officer at SEFE.

In addition to this delivery, Gasum has reserved another slot at the Inkoo FSRU for the latter part of the winter season. These two cargoes will ensure that Gasum can meet the natural gas demand of its customers until spring 2024.