Amber Grid has ensured reliable operation of Lithuanian gas system in event of cutting supplies from East

Gas transmission system operator Amber Grid has announced its gas transmission and consumption results for the first half of 2022. A year marked by tectonic shifts in geopolitics, and thus in the energy sector, has seen three major changes: Lithuania has stopped importing gas from Russia, opened another source of gas supply – the GIPL interconnector with Poland, and the Klaipėda LNG terminal has become the most important gas access route to the Baltic Sea region. The Lithuanian gas system has undergone a definitive reorientation and Amber Grid has ensured stability and reliability of the system after abandoning its hitherto main supplier in the East, the company said in a statement.

In the first half of 2022, 19.1 terawatt hours (TWh) of gas were delivered to Lithuania, excluding transit to the Kaliningrad region. This is a 24% increase compared to 15.4 TWh transported to Lithuania at the same time last year. 7.8 TWh of gas was transported via pipeline to Latvia for the needs of the other Baltic States and Finland, as well as for storage in the Inčukalns underground gas storage facility. This is 14 times more than in the first half of 2021.

“While gas prices have remained at extremely high levels, the changed geopolitical and gas supply situation in the region has only increased the use and importance of Lithuania’s gas infrastructure. Currently, the Klaipėda LNG terminal transits through Lithuania to supply the Latvian, Estonian and Finnish gas markets and to feed gas into the Latvian gas storage facility. It is also stored there for Lithuania’s needs. For these reasons, the interconnection with Latvia is used to the maximum. Gas from the LNG terminal also goes to Poland, where three times more gas was transported in May-June than was imported,” says Vytautas Ruolia, Commercial Director of Amber Grid.

The new GIPL pipeline between Lithuania and Poland, which became operational in May, has been in active use from the first days: 1.5 TWh of gas was transported to Poland in May-June, while 0.5 TWh of gas was transported to Lithuania through the GIPL.

This year, the Klaipėda LNG terminal has become the most important source of gas supply for Lithuania and the Baltic States. In the first half of the year, the terminal supplied 13 TWh of gas, or 68% of the total, 2.5 TWh, or 13%, from Latvia, and 3.1 TWh, or 16%, from Belarus in the January-March period, to Lithuanian, Baltic and Finnish consumers.

Due to the tight gas market situation – high prices and extremely high demand – gas consumption in Lithuania has been declining over the last six months. In the first 6 months of the year, Lithuania consumed 9.6 TWh of gas, 35% less than at the same time last year, when gas demand was 14.7 TWh.

Since Lithuania stopped importing Russian gas on 1 April, only gas destined for Kaliningrad is transported through the Lithuanian-Belarusian interconnector. Gas transit to the Kaliningrad region amounted to 13.3 TWh in the first half of this year and was 4% lower than the same period last year, when 13.8 TWh of gas was transited through Lithuania to Kaliningrad.

Gas is supplied to Lithuania via the Klaipėda LNG terminal, from Poland and from Latvia.