🔥 And the rescuer arrived: how Klaipėda is keeping the Baltic gas system running this winter
This winter, the Klaipėda LNG terminal has once again become the key player in the Baltic gas market. In practice, it is now acting as the region’s “gas lungs,” supporting supply stability across several countries while helping stabilise Latvia’s Inčukalns underground gas storage.
📊 According to public monitoring data from Latvian transmission and storage operator Conexus Baltic Grid (Feb 5):
• Storage injections into Inčukalns — about 150 GWh per day
• Storage withdrawals — only around 1–2 GWh per day
In operational terms, this means storage is currently contributing very little gas to the system and is instead being supported by incoming supply.
🚢 Tankers working in sequence
The Klaipėda LNG terminal is now operating with almost continuous vessel turnover. As soon as one tanker leaves the FSRU Independence, another arrives to take its place.
At the moment, the large LNG carrier ISABELLA is unloading cargo alongside the terminal.
A vessel of this class typically carries:
• 160,000–174,000 m³ of LNG
• Roughly 1 TWh of natural gas after regasification
To put that into perspective:
👉 Pipeline inflow into Latvia currently stands at about 55 GWh per day
👉 Gas flows toward Estonia and Finland reach roughly 70 GWh per day
One large LNG cargo therefore represents several weeks of supply at current regional flow levels.
⚙️ Why this matters
Inčukalns storage currently holds around 7.2–7.5 TWh of gas.
Last winter, storage levels exceeded 15 TWh during the same period.
At lower storage levels, maintaining reservoir pressure becomes a priority. That explains why injections remain high while withdrawals stay minimal.
In simple terms, the Baltic gas system is increasingly operating in real time — gas arrives and is immediately distributed to consumers rather than relying heavily on stored volumes.
🌍 A regional supply chain
It is also important to note that gas stored in Inčukalns does not belong exclusively to Latvia. The storage facility holds volumes owned by Lithuanian and Estonian traders, with part of the gas continuing north toward Finland via interconnected pipelines.
This makes uninterrupted LNG deliveries into Klaipėda a critical stabilising factor for the entire Baltic-Nordic gas network.
📉 The key lesson of this winter
The Baltic gas market is gradually shifting from storage-based security toward logistics-based security.
When storage withdrawals become limited, shipping schedules, LNG cargoes and cross-border flows become essential elements of regional energy stability.
If cold weather eases, the system will stabilise.
If not, Klaipėda will likely remain the region’s main supply backbone. BSM © 2026
Image: photos/photo_190@05-02-2026_14-15-07.jpg