The Incukalns gas storage facility in Latvia – the only one of its kind in the Baltic States – is emptying, and is currently less than 50% full.
Gas storage facilities in Europe are currently around 80% full, while the Incukalns facility has dropped to 49.7% of its capacity.
“The whole Baltic region and Finland are left with one source of natural gas supply, which is operating at maximum technical capacity and supplies both the existing consumption of natural gas in the region and the storage,” representatives of Achema, Lithuania’s fertiliser producer and the largest gas importer, said.
According to the company, high electricity prices, which have led to the start-up of gas-fired power plants, have further increased the consumption of natural gas in the region.
“These factors mean that there are simply no more physical flows of natural gas available for storage,” Achema said.
The three Baltic countries and Finland, with a combined annual consumption of around 6 billion cubic metres of gas, essentially rely on Lithuania’s LNG terminal Independence, which can supply up to 3.8 million cubic metres a year.
Amber Grid, the Lithuanian gas transmission system operator, said that the country’s gas needs during the cold season would be met.
According to the operator, Lithuania has direct access to the LNG market, while Achema, the country’s largest gas consumer, has suspended its operation.
Moreover, the Incukalns gas storage facility is constantly being filled with gas flows from the Independence terminal, Amber Grid added.
“Although the storage capacity does not seem to be high in terms of percentage, the storage capacity of around 12 TWh is quite significant in terms of consumption in the whole region during the winter months,” the operator said on September 5.
“Latvia has recently increased the technical capacity of the storage facility by several TWh, which is likely to result in a lower declared percentage of gas in storage,” it added.
According to Amber Grid, even if one Achema unit were operating, Lithuania’s monthly gas consumption would be only about half of the amount dispensed through the Klaipeda LNG terminal, and there would still be no shortage of gas with both units operating.
In addition, a joint Finnish-Estonian LNG terminal will become operational in December. (LRT/Business World Magazine)
