Naftogaz Wins Its First Long-Term Regasification Booking in Europe

Naftogaz Group has won 12-year rights to regasify at the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Klaipeda, Lithuania.

"For the first time, Naftogaz Group has secured long-term LNG regasification capacity in Europe", the Ukrainian state-owned energy company said in an online statement.

Naftogaz had already secured the terminal's services to import a cargo of United States-produced LNG. That arrangement involved the delivery of 90 million cubic meters (3.18 billion cubic feet) of gas by Lithuania's state-owned integrated energy services provider Ignitis Group, Naftogaz said February 26.

Earlier this year Naftogaz said it would receive LNG via a terminal in Germany for the first time.

"LNG will be sourced from the U.S. and supplied in Germany by the multi-energy company TotalEnergies", Naftogaz said in a press release February 23, without disclosing the volume. "After LNG is regasified by Deutsche ReGas, the gas will be delivered via pipelines through Poland to Ukraine where it will be available for Naftogaz to meet the country's needs during February".

Announcing the new long-term regasification contract with the Klaipeda terminal, which includes the floating storage and regasification unit Independence, Naftogaz said, "Direct capacity booking opens up new opportunities for Naftogaz in terms of long-term supply planning and participation in the global LNG market".

"The booking of long-term LNG terminal capacity in Klaipeda is part of Naftogaz Group's broader efforts to expand access to alternative natural gas supply sources and strengthen Ukraine's energy resilience during the war", it added.

Naftogaz was one of five companies that secured allocation for the terminal's regasification capacity from 2033 to 2044. The others were Lithuania’s Ignitis, Latvia’s Latvenergo AS, Norway's Equinor ASA and Finland’s Gasum Oyj.

"During the procedure, the majority of the offered capacities were allocated - more than 20 terawatt-hours (TWh): 8 TWh until 2044 inclusive and a further 12 TWh until 2040", terminal operator AB KN Energies, also controlled by the Lithuanian government, said separately. Up to 28 TWh of annual capacity was offered.

Lithuanian Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas said, "It is particularly important that, for the first time, we see both Ukraine’s Naftogaz and Finland’s Gasum among the long-term customers. This is a clear signal of trust in Lithuania’s energy infrastructure and of the terminal’s expanding role from the Baltic region to Northern Europe and Ukraine".

KN Energies added, "As the integration of the Baltic and Northern European gas markets continues to grow, the terminal is becoming a strategic gateway that enables customers to serve both regional consumers and the wider European market through the gas transmission system operated by Amber Grid and regional interconnections".

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