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Gazprom finishes tests at

Kaliningrad FSRU

FLOATING LNG GAZPROM has completed tests at its 174,000- supplies amid political fallout from its invasion
cubic metre Marshal Vasilevskiy floating storage of Ukraine.
and regasification unit (FSRU) off the coast of Reuters reported on May 20 that Russian
Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave. President Vladimir Putin had initiated talks with
In a statement last week, the company said it Gazprom on using more LNG in Kaliningrad.
had completed scheduled maintenance checks The Marshal Vasilevskiy FSRU began bringing
at the FSRU’s systems and equipment, as well as gas ashore in Kaliningrad in 2019, but the ves-
at its offshore receiving terminal. The unit has sel was subsequently chartered for service as an
been delivering regasified LNG to the Kalinin- LNG carrier.
grad grid for about two weeks now, according to The Pskov LNG carrier departed from the
Gazprom. Portovaya plant with its first cargo, destined for
The company noted that the FSRU and the Greece, on September 13.
LNG receiving terminal were “technically com- Besides the FSRU, Kaliningrad’s gas supply
plex objects” and required periodic checks of security is also supported by an underground
their work in the climatic conditions of the Baltic storage facility there. Lithuania passed a ban on
Sea, partly during autumn and winter. The LNG Russian gas imports into the country in June,
that the FSRU receives comes from Gazprom’s but made an exception for transit volumes from
Portovaya liquefaction terminal in the Len- mainland Russia to Kaliningrad. Lithuania has
ingrad region. Commercial operations at that also ceased importing Russian LNG at its Klai-
facility were launched in September. peda terminal, and has stopped the import of
The Kaliningrad region, surrounded by Russian electricity.
Poland and Lithuania, currently receives gas Vilnius is yet to make any indication it will
via the 2.5bn cubic metre per year Minsk-Vil- cut on transit volumes to Kaliningrad, which
nius-Kaunas-Kaliningrad pipeline from Russia serves as an important hub for Russia’s military
via Belarus and Lithuania. But Moscow is con- infrastructure.™
cerned that there could be an interruption in

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