LNG

Nordic LNG and biogas company Gasum has started an expansion project at its Riihimäki biogas plant in Finland that makes natural gas from waste and supplies it to the national gas grid.

Fortum and Westinghouse Electric Company of the US have signed an accord to explore prerequisites for the development and deployment of new nuclear plants in Finland and Sweden.

LNG import terminal developer and leading Finnish power company Fortum and subsidiary Uniper, Germany’s biggest Russian pipeline gas importer, and the German Government have agreed a comprehensive stabilisation package to provide financial relief to the Düsseldorf-based utility.

Gasum, the Nordic LNG distributor owned by the state of Finland, said it continued to develop as a company over the past year marked by parliamentary elections in Finland and the European Union where climate change and the energy sector were at the centre of debate.

“The importance of biogas and the circular economy as part of solutions to the acute challenges relating to climate was emphasized after the elections, and the role played by gas is now increasing in Finland as well as other countries such as Sweden,” said Johanna Lamminen, Chief Executive of Gasum in her annual review.

Gasum said that LNG and biogas were being targeted at those sectors where emission rates were highest, namely road and maritime transport and industry.

“Last year was a year of huge leaps of change for Gasum,” said Lamminen.

“For several years, we have been building Gasum into an energy company making it possible for our customers to access cleaner energy on land and at sea,” she stated.

Fully owned by the state of Finland, Gasum has LNG import assets in Finland and Sweden and LNG liquefaction as well as marine bunkering services through its former Skangas business, now integrated and operating  under the Gasum banner.

The company’s strategy includes an expansion to provide 50 LNG fuel stations by the early 2020s for Nordic transportation companies in Finland, Sweden and Norway.

“Our strategy of focusing on the development of the Nordic gas market and energy infrastructure is being implemented at a great pace,” added the CEO.

She reiterated that the Group’s revenue totaled €1.12 billion ($1.28Bln), down 4.2 percent compared with 2018.

“The decline in revenue was caused primarily by the development in the sales price of gas. Our operating profit was €141.4 million, up 13.9 percent year on year,” she added.

Gasum also concluded the acquisition of the energy industry expert company Enegia to be better positioned among energy market service providers.

“We also announced our acquisition of AGA’s Clean Energy business and Nauticor’s Marine Bunkering business from Linde AG last year,” said Lamminen.

“Once completed, the transaction will create a platform for an even broader offering of low-emission energy solutions in response to growing demand among industrial, maritime and road transport customers,” she added.

In other restructuring, Gasum sold its subsidiary Gasum Tekniikka Oy to the industrial maintenance partner Viafin Service Oyj, which has continued the active development of gas-sector maintenance services.

Gasum continues to build its LNG bunkering business and carried out its 200 ship-to-ship operation in January 2020 as maritime use of the fuel gathers pace in northwest Europe.

The board of directors of Gasum has also been slightly changed with two new members appointed and two others stepping down.

The current members of the Board are Stein Dale, Elina Engman, Päivi Pesola, Elisabet Salander Björklund and Torbjörn Holmström. They were re-elected at the annual meeting.

“Minna Pajumaa and Ari Vanhanen were elected as new members of the Gasum Board and Elina Engman was elected as the Chair,” said Gasum.

Juha Rantanen had previously served as the Chairman of the Gasum Supervisory Board during 2014-2016 and as the Chairman of the Gasum Board of Directors from 2016-2020. 

Another member of the board and supervisory board since 2010, Jarmo Väisänen was no longer available when Board members were elected this time.

Elected to the board as a new member, Senior Financial Counsellor Minna Pajumaa works in the Ownership Steering Department of the Finnish Prime Minister’s Office. 

Also elected to the board as a new member, Ari Vanhanen, is the CEO and a board member of Colliers International Finland Ltd.

The Finnish gas market has opened up to competition with a wholesale market for pipeline natural gas after the transmission network was unbundled from LNG and gas firm Gasum.

Gasum, the Nordic natural gas company and LNG supplier based in Finland, said it had agreed to acquire two businesses from the German group, Linde AG, with one involved in the clean energy sector and another in LNG maritime fuel.

Gasum, the natural gas network company in Finland and a leading Nordic liquefied natural gas supplier, reported nine-month earnings down by 7.2 percent as its clean energy policies proved to be slow in growing profits as it also prepared for the opening up of the market with the spinning off of a new company called Gasgrid Finland.

Gasum, a leading Nordic natural gas company and liquefied natural gas supplier, said a growing number of trucking companies in countries like Finland and Sweden are renewing their vehicle fleets to be powered by LNG, taking advantage of Gasum’s expanding filling station network.

Finnish natural gas company Gasum, an LNG supplier and infrastructure operator in Finland, Sweden and Norway reported lower profits and volumes ahead of the opening up of Finland’s gas market in 2020.

Lyse Group, the Norwegian company owned by 16 municipalities that first acquired waterfall rights one hundred years ago to help develop hydro-electric power stations, has sold its remaining 30 percent in Nordic LNG company Skangas to majority-owner Gasum of Finland.