Elenger brings the first LNG cargo to Inkoo terminal

This weekend, the first LNG cargo onboard tanker Vivit Americas LNG arrived in the port of Inkoo in Finland from the United States on the order of Elenger, the largest privately owned energy company in the Finnish-Baltic region.

“We are one of the few energy companies in the region to procure gas directly from Western sources, this allows us to offer our customers greater security and better prices, and has significantly increased our market share in Finland and the Baltic countries over the past year,” said Pasi Näkki, CEO of Elenger Finland.

“Until today we have used the port of Klaipeda in Lithuania to bring gas from the United States and Norway, now we start cooperation with the Inkoo terminal too and also with a new supplier in addition to our current partner Equinor from Norway – a global energy company Vitol,” said Näkki.

Elenger has signed agreements with LNG terminals to deliver a total of ten cargoes by the fall of this year – three deliveries have already arrived in Lithuania’s Klaipeda port in January and March, and a total of seven deliveries will arrive in Finland’s Inkoo port in the spring and summer. Last year, Elenger procured five large shiploads of gas for its customers through the port of Klaipeda.

Pablo Galante Escobar, Head of LNG & European Gas and Power, Vitol said: “Vitol is delighted to deliver the first LNG cargo to Elenger via Finland’s Inkoo terminal. The opening of the terminal will enhance energy security in Finland and the Baltic region, facilitating the flow of LNG from around the world to European industry and consumers.”

The cargo originates from Vitol’s portfolio of US origin LNG, specifically the Venture Global Calcasieu Pass facility, and was transported in the Vivit Americas LNG, a modern LNG tanker which is part of the Vitol fleet. The tanker Vivit Americas LNG, sailing under the flag of Malta, built in 2020, is 299 meters long and 46 meters wide. The tanker can hold 174,062 m3 of liquefied gas.

Vitol has a global LNG portfolio with long term sourcing contracts from producers in the USA, Middle East, Africa and Asia. In 2022 Vitol traded over 17.5 million toe of LNG with around 67% of this volume being supplied to Europe.

Elenger offers customers natural gas in the form of pipeline gas, compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The company is also developing a renewable energy portfolio in the form of solar energy and biomethane production and sales. Elenger operates in Finland, the Baltic states and Poland. The group has a total of 50,000 customers. Elenger is the largest privately owned energy company in the Finnish-Baltic region. In homeland Estonia it is known under Eesti Gaas brand name.

Vitol is a leader in the energy sector with a presence across the spectrum: from oil through to power, renewables and carbon. Chartering circa 6,000 sea voyages every year, Vitol trades 7.4 million barrels a day of crude oil and products, over 17.5 million toe of LNG per annum and has contracted annual sales of 1,500 TWh of natural gas. Vitol’s clients include national oil companies, multinationals, leading industrial companies and utilities. Founded in Rotterdam in 1966, today Vitol serves clients from some 40 offices worldwide and is invested in energy assets globally including: 17+ m m3 of storage globally, 500 k b/d of refining capacity, over 7,000 service stations, power plants and a growing portfolio of transitional and renewable energy assets. Revenues in 2022 were $505 billion.