Latvia to order study on potential LNG terminal projects

After receiving project applications for the construction of LNG terminals in Latvia, the country’s ministries are to order an in-depth risk assessment for two LNG terminal projects.

On 19 April 2022, Latvia’s Cabinet of Ministers decided that an LNG terminal project should be implemented in the country. At the same time, the Cabinet of Ministers decided that the Ministry of Economics should submit to the Cabinet of Ministers by 31 May 2022 an assessment of the benefits and costs of identified potential LNG terminals, by offering the most optimal solution for ensuring the security of natural gas supply.

At a meeting on 7 June, the Ministry of Economics presented to the Cabinet of Ministers the prepared report on the received project applications for the construction of an LNG terminal in Latvia.

The ministry informed the government that the first phase of evaluation of LNG terminal projects and market research had been completed and potential projects had been identified.

Three applications were received within the deadline. One of the submitted projects was immediately excluded because it did not provide all the information required in the application and thus it was not possible to evaluate the project objectively.

After the initial evaluation, it was concluded that the implementation of both submitted projects is possible. However, in both cases, there are risks of both financial and technical nature, which require in-depth evaluation.

Therefore, in order to enable the Cabinet of Ministers to make a decision, the Cabinet of Ministers instructed the Ministry of Economics to provide an in-depth risk assessment by an independent consultant for both LNG terminal projects.

This includes the compliance of the projects with the national interests of Latvia from the economic, technical, legal, national security, and safety aspects. The deadline is 31 August 2022.