The
BalticConnector, a EU-backed gas transmission project between Estonia and
Finland, will become operational from the beginning of 2020, boosting EU energy
security, Herkko Plit, President and CEO at Baltic Connector Oy, told New
Europe in Helsinki on October 12.
“Balticconnector (BC) will become operational
from the beginning of 2020 onwards,” Plit said. “So far, no capacity bookings
have yet been done. In general, the gas will be purchased from where it will be
the cheapest. Finnish gas market will be opened in the beginning of 2020, i.e.
once BC is in operation,” he added.
Comprising
offshore and onshore pipelines and two compressor stations in both Estonia and
Finland, the BalticConnector will diversify gas supplies away from Russia.
“With BC, there is possibility to diversify the gas sources. At the moment
Finland is 100% dependent on Russian gas. BC is one the key EU gas
infrastructure projects, thus having also 75% EU funding. Creating the internal
EU gas market the important issue and through this also the EU energy security
gets improved,” Plit said.
During a
trip to Finland for the second Energy Union Tour on October 12-13, European
Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič discussed the
BalticConnector, noting ahead of his visit that it would “end Finland’s gas
isolation and lead to a more competitive wholesale and retail gas, in addition
to enhancing the region’s security of supply”.
Jorma
Aurela, chief engineer at the Energy Department of the Ministry of Employment
and the Economy, told New Europe in Helsinki on October 10 that in the past all
the gas imports to Finland have come from Russia. “Gas has come from Russia but
this change. We will have a gas connection to EU – this new gas pipeline – the
BalticConnector. This is now a real connector,” he said, reminding that
improvements in the connections of the gas transmission systems between Poland
and the Baltic States and the Balticconnector project will enable the
integration of the Finnish and Baltic systems with the EU’s common gas market.
“It’s a very interesting move because it has
not been talked a lot in the Finnish policy but it will be true in 2020 and
it’s not going to be very costly. So there, we will not have the monopoly of
Russians. But still oil and coal is mostly imported from Russia and part of the
electricity,” Aurela said.
The chief
engineer from the Finnish ministry said the BalticConnector “is energy security
of EU and, of course, Finland but also the Baltic countries because they have
had market problems with the Russians. Finland somehow never had a problem with
Russian gas”.
Aurela said
liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Lithuanian port of Klaipėda could feed
into the Baltic Connector. “But it can come also from Central Europe from this
connector from Poland,” he said.
Aurela
reminded that the BalticConnector would not be possible without considerable
support from the EU. The total cost of the project is €250 million. In 2016,
the European Commission (CEF) granted funding of €187.5 million to the project.
“It was very nice and even Mr. (Jean-Claude) Juncker came to place,” Aurela
said.
He noted
that some natural gas is used for electricity. “It is used in combined
production. But it used to be more in the past than today. I remember when we
used more than 7 billion cubic metres of gas. Now it’s much less – something
like 4.5 billion cubic metres,” he said. “Gas in the old days and today is
coming only from Russia,” he said.
Asked if
the gas from the BalticConnector will be used for electricity, Aurela said:
“It’s up to the clients. It’s not used so much. It’s too expensive to be used
in electricity production so it is used in the industry more or less”.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/finland-estonia-gas-pipe-diversify-eu-supplies-away-russia/