Klaipėda LNG terminal () is a

liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...

import terminal in the

port of Klaipėda The Port of Klaipėda () is a seaport located in Klaipėda, Lithuania. It is one of the few ice-free ports in northernmost Europe. It serves as a port of call for cruise ships as well as freight transport. Regular cargo and passenger ferry lines c ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. It cost US$128 million to construct. The developer and owner of the project is KN Energies. The terminal started operating on 3 December 2014.''Pradeda veikti SGD terminalas''. Vakarų ekspresas, 2014-12-03
/ref> After the completion of the Klaipėda LNG FSRU, Lithuania became the fifth country in the world to use FSRU technology for

History

On 22–27 January 2014 pilot test was conducted in order to assess the FSRU ''Independence'''s performance and seaworthiness. Later on the vessel sailed to the sea and the ship's sea trial lasted nearly a week. Earlier, in the beginning of January the ship's propulsion system was tested, later crew safety equipment and other range of testing conducted. It was delivered in March 2014 and was reached the terminal on 27 October 2014. In June 2014 supplying platform was finished to be built in Kiaulės Nugara. It is one of the four main elements of length embankment (together with mounting and mooring field, steel bridges and high-pressure gas platform). On 27 October 2014 the main vessel arrived to Klaipėda's Port. The welcoming ceremony of ''Independence'' arrival was broadcast live by national broadcaster

LRT televizija LRT televizija (abbreviated LRT TV), formerly known as LTV 1, is the flagship television channel of Lithuanian National Radio and Television. History LRT televizija was launched on 30 April 1957 as LTSR TV or TV Vilnius, by 1960 it was broad ...

, while the ship was greeted by Lithuanian President

Dalia Grybauskaitė Dalia Grybauskaitė (; born 1 March 1956) is a Lithuanian politician who served as the eighth president of Lithuania from 2009 to 2019. She is the first and so far only woman to hold the position and in 2014 she became the first President of Li ...

. Representatives from

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...

also participated at the opening. On 3 December 2014 the terminal started operating. On 27 October 2017, LNG Distribution Station at

Klaipėda Port Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...

started operating. Station is dedicated to create a comprehensive LNG logistics chain in the Baltic region. On 7 January 2019, the world's largest liquefied natural gas bunkering vessel Kairos, owned by KN and German company Nauticor, was launched at that time. The ship's main activity in Klaipėda port is to transport LNG from the LNG terminal to LNG distribution station. In September 2019, Klaipėdos Nafta sold its shares in Kairos, the company that owns the bunkering vessel Kairos. On 6 December 2024, the Klaipėda LNG terminal operator, the state-owned KN Energies (formerly Klaipėdos Nafta), officially bought the FSRU from the Norwegian company Höegh Evi (formerly Hoegh LNG) for USD 153.5 million, and the same day the FSRU was registered in the Lithuanian Register of Sea Ships. At the takeover ceremony, the Lithuanian state flag was hoisted on the FSRU and homeport changed from Singapore to

Klaipėda Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...

Storage and regasification vessel

FSRU ''Independence'', an

LNG carrier An LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). Overview The first oceangoing liquified natural gas tanker in the world was '' Methane Pioneer'', which entered service in 1959 with a carrying capacity of ...

built by

Hyundai Heavy Industries HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (HHI; ) is the world's largest shipbuilding company and a major heavy equipment manufacturer. Its headquarters are in Ulsan, South Korea. History HHI was founded in 1972 by Chung Ju-yung as a division ...

, is designed as a floating LNG storage and regasification unit for the terminal. It is leased from Höegh LNG for 10 years with an option of buyout. In December 2024, the FSRU was sold to the Lithuanian company KN Energies,. FSRU Independence has a maximum capacity to handle of of natural gas, while it has four storage tanks with total capacity of . Lithuania also has access to the

Inčukalns Inčukalns (German language, German: ''Hinzenberg'') is a village in Sigulda Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. Started in 1436, the parish was for centuries a part of Medieval Livonia. Its economy mainly subsists on farming and fores ...

underground gas storage Natural gas is a commodity that can be stored for an indefinite period of time in natural gas storage facilities for later consumption. Usage Gas storage is principally used to meet load variations. Gas is injected into storage during periods o ...

facility in Latvia.

Supply

Equinor Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. It is primarily a petroleum company, petroleum company operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renew ...

was contracted to supply LNG for five years to cover the minimum operational need of the terminal. In 2015, Equinor was to supply of natural gas. The first test cargo was delivered on 28 October 2014 by LNG tanker ''Golar Seal''. Gas was originating from the Snøhvit field (

Melkøya or is an island in Hammerfest Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The island is connected to the town of Hammerfest (on the neighbouring island of Kvaløya to the west) by the 2,316 metres-long Melkøysund Tunnel, which was completed in ...

LNG plant). It was imported by Litgas, a subsidiary of

Lietuvos Energija Ignitis Group (Ignitis grupė AB; former name: Lietuvos Energija UAB) is a state-owned energy holding company located in Vilnius, Lithuania. The Group’s core business is focused on operating Lithuania’s electricity distribution network (Network ...

. At the beginning of 2016, a renewed contract was signed with a change in the price formula, a reduction in the annual volume of gas supplied, and an extension of the contract duration until the end of 2024. At the end of 2024, it was decided not to renew this contract.

Awards

At the 8th European Gas Conference 2015 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Klaipėda LNG FSRU won the Project of the Year award.

Supporting infrastructure

Previously Klaipėda was only connected to one main pipeline of Klaipėda–Panevėžys pipeline within Lithuanian gas grid. To ensure continuous supply of gas from Klaipėda LNG FSRU to Lithuanian gas market, additional main gas pipelines built, connecting to the terminal: * Klaipėda–Jurbarkas pipeline, opened in 2013. * Klaipėda–Kuršėnai pipeline, opened in 2015.Pradeda veikti strateginis dujotiekis Klaipėda–Kuršėnai
/ref>

References