Gasum, Naftogaz among those locking in multi-year capacity at Lithuanian LNG hub

June 10, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Gasum, a Nordic gas sector and energy market player, and Ukraine’s state-owned energy company Naftogaz Group have secured long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity at Lithuania’s LNG terminal, operated by KN Energies (KN).

Gasum's container vessel Coral Energy at Klaipeda LNG terminal; Courtesy of KN Enenergies — Gasum’s container vessel Coral Energy at Klaipeda LNG terminal; Courtesy of KN Energies

Finland’s Gasum has reserved LNG terminal capacity at the Klaipeda LNG terminal in Lithuania for the period 2033–2040 to support its ability to supply the Northwestern European market with LNG and liquefied biomethane (bio-LNG) over the coming decade.

The Klaipeda terminal has been part of the Nordic player’s supply chain for some time, as it uses the LNG terminal primarily as a reloading point for its own carrier and bunker vessels, but also to support its natural gas operations in Finland and the Baltic countries.

The Lithuanian terminal, which is strategically situated for the company’s own LNG terminal network in Finland, Sweden, and Norway, will also enable the firm to utilize the capacity to serve its maritime customers directly in and around the Danish straits.

Anders Malm, Senior Vice President of Supply & Trading at Gasum, emphasized: “Securing capacity at Klaipeda supports Gasum’s strategic long-term supply capability and gives us flexibility in optimizing deliveries to our terminal network and maritime customers. It also underpins our commitment to being a dependable partner in the energy transition.”

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Another player that opted to book capacity at the LNG terminal in Klaipėda is Naftogaz, which obtained access to the European LNG terminal for the period from 2033 to 2044. Five companies in total have secured the right to use the terminal on a long-term basis, including Norway’s Equinor, Lithuania’s Ignitis, and Latvia’s Latvenergo, alongside Gasum and the Ukrainian firm.

Sergii Koretskyi, Chief Executive Officer of Naftogaz, commented: “This marks a new level of cooperation and supply planning. Decisions like this are strategically important for Ukraine’s energy security. They expand our access to the global LNG market and strengthen the long-term resilience of Ukraine’s gas supply.

“I would like to thank the Government of Ukraine and our Lithuanian partners for their cooperation and trust. This is another important step toward strengthening the energy security of Ukraine and the wider European region.”

With the demand for LNG expected to grow, especially in the maritime market, since the number of LNG-powered vessels is set to increase notably in the coming years, the maritime industry faces increased pressure to transition to low-emission fuels, as the UN’s maritime organization IMO and the EU have set goals and targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Gasum believes that the capacity at Klaipeda can be used for virtual liquefaction of pipeline-fed biomethane into bio-LNG, through mass balancing and biomethane certificates, as a growing number of the company’s customers are seeking to reduce the lifecycle emissions of fuel further than what LNG alone can offer.

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KN Energies, as the operator of the Klaipėda LNG terminal, elaborated that the majority of the offered capacities were allocated, more than 20 terawatt-hours (TWh): 8 TWh until 2044 inclusive and a further 12 TWh until 2040.

The demand for long-term capacity bookings in Klaipėda is deemed to be in line with broader trends in the European LNG market, as long-term capacities were offered or allocated to market participants by multiple European LNG terminals, including terminals in Croatia, Greece, the Netherlands, Germany, and Poland.

Žygimantas Vaičiūnas, Minister of Energy, highlighted: “Long-term Klaipėda LNG terminal capacity allocation results once again confirm the strategic importance of this infrastructure for the energy security of the Baltic region and Europe as a whole. It is particularly important that, for the first time, we see both Ukraine’s Naftogaz and Finland’s Gasum among the long-term customers.

“This is a clear signal of trust in Lithuania’s energy infrastructure and of the terminal’s expanding role from the Baltic region to Northern Europe and Ukraine. It strengthens regional energy resilience and contributes to long-term supply diversification across Europe.”

The Klaipėda LNG terminal is perceived to remain important in the broader regional context, as the integration of the Baltic and Northern European gas markets continues to grow, because the terminal is becoming a strategic gateway that enables customers to serve both regional consumers and the wider European market through the gas transmission system operated by Amber Grid and regional interconnections.

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The capacity allocation procedure was launched on March 25, 2026, offering the market the opportunity to book up to 28 TWh of regasification capacity per year from 2033 to 2044, divided into seven equal packages of 4 TWh per year, giving market participants the option to choose periods of eight or 12 consecutive years, as approximately 1 TWh corresponds to one conventional-size LNG cargo.

Taking into account the results of this procedure, as well as the 4 TWh package of long-term capacities until 2044 allocated back in 2023, the total utilisation of the LNG terminal will reach around 75% of the terminal’s nominal capacity.

The unallocated LNG terminal capacities may be offered to the market through repeated long-term capacity booking and annual capacity allocation procedures for each year separately.