LNG

Elenger, the largest privately owned energy company in the Finnish-Baltic region, said it received the first US liquefied natural gas cargo onboard the tanker “Vivit Americas LNG” with 174,000 cubic metres capacity to arrive at the port of Inkoo in Finland.

“We are one of the few energy companies in the region to procure gas directly from Western sources, this allows us to offer our customers greater security and better prices, and has significantly increased our market share in Finland and the Baltic countries over the past year," said Pasi Näkki, Chief Executive of Elenger Suomi in Finland.

Elenger had previously used the port of Klaipeda in Lithuania to bring LNG from the US and from Norway and now the firm has started cooperating with the Inkoo floating import terminal.

Elenger has signed agreements with LNG terminals to deliver a total of 10 cargoes by the start of the winter season this year.

Three deliveries have already arrived in Lithuania's Klaipeda port in January and March 2023 from the US and Norway, and a total of seven deliveries will arrive in Finland's Inkoo port in the spring and summer.

Cargoes procured

“Last year, Elenger procured five large shiploads of gas for its customers through the port of Klaipeda,” said the company.

Elenger offers customers natural gas in the form of pipeline gas, LNG and compressed natural gas.

The company is also developing a renewable energy portfolio in the form of solar energy and biomethane production and sales.

Elenger operates in Finland, the Baltic states and Poland and the group has a total of 50,000 customers.

Elenger in the market in the Baltic state of Estonia it is known under the Eesti Gaas brand name.

“Vitol is delighted to deliver the first LNG cargo to Elenger via Finland’s Inkoo terminal,” said Pablo Galante Escobar, Head of LNG and European Gas and Power at global commodities firm Vitol.

“The opening of the terminal will enhance energy security in Finland and the Baltic region, facilitating the flow of LNG from around the world to European industry and consumers,” Escobar added.

The cargo originated from Vitol’s portfolio of US LNG, specifically the Venture Global Calcasieu Pass facility in Louisiana.

Vitol has a global LNG portfolio with long-term sourcing contracts from producers in the US, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

In 2022 Vitol traded over 17.5 million tonnes of LNG with around 67 percent of this volume being supplied to Europe.  

Elenger, the energy company in the Baltic state of Estonia, has taken delivery of the first of a Damen Shipyard-built liquefied natural gas bunkering vessel, the first LNG fuel supplier deployed in the Gulf of Finland to serve ships and shoreside small-scale customers.

The “Optimus” is 100-metres in length with 6,000 cubic metres of capacity in two type-C tanks.

The deployment of the ship involved multinational efforts from project participants in China, Estonia, Russia, the Netherlands and France.

“Its introduction is expected to accelerate the wider adoption of LNG as a cleaner alternative fuel in the Baltic Sea by providing a mobile and efficient ship-to-ship distribution service for the first time,” said Elenger.

The vessel loaded LNG in the port at Vysotsk island in Russia and headed to Tallinn in Estonia.

The bunkering vessel was built in China at the Damen Shipyard in Yichang City, located on the left bank of the Yangtze River.

The construction was overseen by French classification society Bureau Veritas.

Gas trials for the “Optimus” were completed in the Damen Verolme shipyard in the Dutch port of Rotterdam.

The owner of the “Optimus” is Estonian investment company Infortar and Elenger is the charterer.

“Optimus is designed to meet the requirements of ICE class 1A certification and to achieve green ship notation,” said Elenger.

“A dual-fuel propulsion system is used for the management of the boil-off gas in combination with a gas boiler system, and the interior of the vessel features high-quality accommodation for her crew,” added the company.

“With this first LNG bunkering vessel, Elenger has significantly expanded its LNG distribution business in the Baltic region,” said the company.

It has been supplying one of the leading regional ferry companies, Tallink Group, for the past five years, refuelling its LNG-fuelled RoPax ferry “Megastar” using multiple specialist trucks.

The “Megastar “will be one of the first beneficiaries of the arrival of “Optimus”, followed in spring 2022 by Tallink’s new LNG-fuelled RoPax ferry “MyStar”.

Ain Hanschmidt, Chief Executive of the Estonian-based owners, investment firm Infortar, said its strategy is to invest in safe and sustainable LNG supply for various maritime customers in the Gulf of Finland region.

The construction of the “Optimus” was supported by the European Union Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funding programme and was co-financed by the leading financial services group in Finland, OP Financial Group.