Gasgrid wraps up works to launch Inkoo LNG terminal, awaits FSRU arrival early next week

December 21, 2022, by Ajsa Habibic

Finnish transmission system operator Gasgrid Finland has completed construction work for the floating LNG terminal in the deep harbour area in Inkoo as it expects Excelerate Energy’s floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) Exemplar to reach the terminal as early as 25 December.

On 20 December, Gasgrid also informed it was granted a permit by the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes) to place the FSRU in the port of Inkoo and carry out LNG terminal operations on a permanent basis.

The work on the LNG terminal began in August this year and included the pier and mooring structures and systems needed by the FSRU as well as the construction of a 2.2-kilometre gas pipeline.

Gasgrid said it implemented the floating LNG terminal project to secure the supply of gas to industry, energy production and households as well as to safeguard Finland’s security of supply from winter 2023 onwards.

The newly built Inkoo LNG terminal is expected to ensure the availability of gas in Finland far into the future and replaces gas supplies that Finland earlier imported from Russia.

“Completion of the port structures is a really important milestone in the entire LNG floating terminal project. Everything is now in place for Exemplar to safely anchor in the deep harbour in Inkoo in December and connect to Gasgrid’s gas transmission network”, said Olli Sipilä, Gasgrid Finland’s CEO.

Sipilä added that the estimated arrival time of the FSRU is 25-28 December, depending on weather conditions.

“Our goal the whole time has been to be able to start using the liquefied natural gas aboard the LNG terminal vessel already this winter. We are now very close to reaching this goal.”

The 291-metre-long Exemplar will be fastened to steel bollards attached to dolphins anchored to the bedrock by a total of more than 112 over 30-metre-long bored piles.

When fully laden, the FSRU Exemplar holds around 68,000 tonnes of LNG. This means approximately 1,050 GWh of energy content.

The unit will serve Finland, Estonia and the Baltic Sea region under the ten-year charter agreement signed by Excelerate Energy and Gasgrid Finland in May this year.