Latvia and Estonia have agreed to work together to ensure gas supplies for both countries during times of crisis, Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins has said.
The agreement will be signed on May 12. The two countries plan to use the liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal at Paldiski.
Karins said using the terminal was a step forward for securing supply for the entire region.
The Latvian government mulled the idea of building its own terminal but has backed down on the idea, although had not yet officially announced it.
It is considered to be too expensive to build a terminal with Marubeni, the shareholder of Conexus Baltic Grid, which owns the Incukalns gas storage facility.
“For the first time, the Cooperation Agreement provides a framework for how Latvia and Estonia can work together to secure gas supplies in a crisis,” said Karins.
Latvian Climate and Energy Minister Raimonds Cudars said: “In the coming months, we will agree on the terms of cooperation terms with our Estonian colleagues. And also how, in the event of a crisis, both sides will ensure the arrival of an LNG ship at the Paldiski terminal to supply the region with gas as needed.”
However, countries have not yet agreed on the funding from both sides.
Estonian Climate Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) said: “We have the infrastructure and the Latvians have the storage.”
“The benefit for Estonia is that we have infrastructure that we would not otherwise use, but we can now use it to ensure our security and the security of our neighbors,” he said. (ERR/Business World Magazine)