First US LNG cargo on way to Lithuania

Lithuania, the largest of the three Baltic nations, is expected to receive a cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US next week.

The 162,000-cbm LNG tanker Clean Ocean is expected to arrive at the port of Klaipeda where Lithuania’s first LNG import terminal is located on August 21, according to the shipping data provided by the port of Klaipeda.

This will be the first US LNG cargo to land in Lithuania.

The shipment was secured earlier this year by Lithuania’s natural gas supply and trading company Lietuvos Dujų Tiekimas, part of the state-controlled Lietuvos Energija.

The Lithuanian company bought the cargo from US LNG player Cheniere that ships the fuel from its Sabine Pass liquefaction plant in Louisiana.

Clean Ocean’s AIS data shows that the vessel had left the Sabine Pass facility on August 5.

Lietuvos Dujų Tiekimas said previously it would store a part of the natural gas purchased from Cheniere at a lower price in summer in Latvian Incukalns natural gas storage facility.

The company also bought another cargo of Sabine Pass LNG from Spain’s Gas Natural Fenosa. This cargo is scheduled to dock at Höegh LNG’s FSRU Independence, used as an import terminal, in mid-September.

Worth mentioning, US Vice President Mike Pence recently said during a visit in Tallin he expects more LNG supplies from the US to Lithuania in the future.

Lithuania started importing the chilled fuel in December 2014 in order to reduce its dependence on Russian pipeline gas supplies.

The LNG terminal currently provides Lithuania with roughly half of its gas needs with the rest being sourced from Russian Gazprom.

LNG World News Staff