Eesti Gas, a unit of Estonian investment firm Infortar, said it will receive 16 shipments of liquefied natural gas this year, 11 more cargoes compared to 2022.
The firm, which is branded internationally as Elenger, said in May that it has “committed to bring 14 LNG cargoes from different suppliers to its customers by the fall and plans to add some more in the fourth quarter.”
This means that Eesti Gas purchased two more LNG shipments in the meantime.
The firm said in a statement on Wednesday that it has received four shipments via Lithuania’s FSRU-based Klaipeda LNG import facility and eight shipments via Finland’s Inkoo FSRU-based terminal this year.
“Until the end of the year, one more cargo to Klaipeda and three to Inkoo have been agreed,” it said.
The company’s major supply partners are energy trader Vitol and energy giants TotalEnergies and Equinor, it said.
Prices down
“One third of the LNG imports to the Baltic region and Finland come through Eesti Gaas – large volumes and direct contracts with the leading LNG suppliers allow us to offer our customers reliable and affordable supplies and increase our market share,” Margus Kaasik, chairman of the managment board of Eesti Gaas, said in the statement.
“In less than a year, we made a complete turnaround to LNG of Western origin, the new supply routes from Norway and the United States were established and work well today, this has given the regional gas market more security and also helped bring down the price,“ Kaasik noted.
From last autumn’s peak price of 2.85 euros/m3, the price for Eesti Gaas’ household customers has fallen by more than 84 percent to 0.46 euros/m3 today, the firm said.
Larger gas price reductions took place in December of last year and in February of this year, when Eesti Gaas reduced the price of natural gas by 35 and 50 percent, respectively, according to Eesti Gas.
“Heading towards the new heating season, our gas consumers can have peace of mind – European gas storages are full and there will be enough gas,” Kaasik said.
“Towards winter, the price of gas is expected to rise somewhat, but according to all assumptions, the upcoming winter will be easier for consumers than the previous one,” Kaasik said.
