Completion of the floating LNG terminal at the Port of Inkoo in record time is proof of the importance of seamless cooperation between different actors in the tense geopolitical situation. Gasgrid’s historic LNG terminal project in Inkoo ensures gas supply for industry, energy production and households, secures the security of supply in Finland and the Baltics, and the continuity of gas supplies long into the future. An event celebrating the commissioning of the project took place in Helsinki today, 3 March.

The LNG terminal project is very significant and historic for Finnish society as a whole. The LNG terminal vessel proved to be the fastest and most effective solution to break away from dependence on Russian gas in Finland and to ensure the continuity of Finnish and Baltic gas supplies in various scenarios well into the future.

“Getting the floating LNG terminal up and running in the Port of Inkoo by the end of last year was really a mission impossible, but we succeeded nonetheless. We owe special thanks to the people at Gasgrid and to the permit authorities. Their excellent cooperation enabled us to secure the supply of gas for domestic needs and improve the security of supply of Finland and the Baltics,” says the Minister of Finance Annika Saarikko.

The LNG terminal has enabled Finland to end its dependence on Russian gas, and to improve the security of supply to Finnish society. This was the first time a terminal vessel intended for processing liquefied natural gas had been brought to Finland. The importance of the floating LNG terminal is great in terms of securing the gas supply to Finnish industry.

”Getting the LNG terminal to Inkoo so quickly has been a major success in the midst of the current energy crisis,” says the Minister of Economic Affairs of Finland Mika Lintilä and welcomes the fact that this new terminal will be able to guarantee the supply of gas to industry while also improving the production capacity of electricity.

The LNG terminal enables gas deliveries to the Baltic states and even Poland via the Balticconnector pipeline. The progress of the project was ensured by cooperation between Finland and Estonia.

The project was implemented to an exceptional schedule. Port and terminal structures typically take 12–18 months to complete, and the duration of the entire project is approximately 2–3 years. Preliminary survey work for the Inkoo LNG terminal ship began in February 2022, and the port terminal construction work was completed just before Christmas 2022. The Exemplar vessel anchored in the deep harbour in Inkoo on 28 December 2022 and commercial use of the terminal began on 16 January 2023.

The commissioning of the terminal and cooperation between different actors were celebrated at an event on 3 March. Gasgrid and its partners, the authorities and the decision-makers ensured seamless cooperation so that the historic project progressed in record time, reliably and safely.

“The project as a whole was challenging. There were few suitable vessels available, construction work had to be carried out in record time and the permits and official approvals had to be obtained to a tight schedule. The LNG terminal ship project is an excellent example of how seamless teamwork between different parties can be at its best in Finland,” says Gasgrid Finland CEO Olli Sipilä.

The 291 m-long floating terminal contains approximately 68,000 tonnes of liquefied natural gas when fully loaded. The ship’s annual vaporization capacity of 40 TWh clearly exceeds Finland’s annual natural gas consumption.

About Gasgrid

Gasgrid Finland Oy is a Finnish state-owned company and transmission system operator with system responsibility. We offer our customers safe, reliable and cost-efficient transmission of gases. We actively develop our transmission platform, services and the gas market in a customer-oriented manner to promote the carbon-neutral energy and raw material system of the future.