Finland and Estonia have agreed to build two liquefied natural
gas terminals connected through a pipeline in the Gulf of Finland,
a move aimed at reducing both countries' dependence on Russian
gas.
Russia currently supplies all of Estonia and Finland's gas
imports. The two countries have been in talks over linking their
gas markets for over three years, but Russia's recently more
aggressive foreign policy has amplified concerns, especially in the
Baltics, that Moscow may use gas deliveries as a tool to reassert
its influence over the region.
The new plan calls for the construction of a large-scale LNG
terminal with a regional distribution in Finland, a smaller gas
distribution terminal in Estonia and a pipeline tying the
countries' gas markets together, the Finnish government said in a
news release late on Monday. The project had been put on hold due
to disagreements over the sizes of the terminals, with both
countries wanting the bigger facility on their shores.
Estonia's Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas said having the deal on
the table would allow Estonia the opportunity to decrease its
dependency on Russian gas significantly. He told Finnish
broadcaster YLE that relying on a single source of energy is a big
problem, and if this "dependency is on Russia, then it is doubly
problematic."
In Estonia, critics said a small gas distribution terminal
wouldn't serve the Baltic country's interests.
"It is in the interests of Estonia to build a regional LNG
terminal, not set up a small terminal that would make the gas more
expensive for consumers and be pointless to our economic
environment," Marko Mihkelson, a member of the conservative
opposition IRL party, wrote on his official Facebook account.
Gasum Oy, the Finnish gas company in charge of developing the
project together with Estonia's Võrguteenus, said the new agreement
will help move the project forward but that the final outcome still
hinges on the availability of sufficient financial support.
The Finnish government said efforts are being made to secure
substantial European Union funding for the projects. A final
decision by the EU is expected this spring, Gasum said.
The Finnish government said that if the construction of the
Finnish terminal hasn't progressed enough by the end of 2016, it
may be built in Estonia instead. The countries aim to have the gas
pipeline in operation in 2019.
Finland's Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said the deal would
help improve the countries' gas-based energy security.
Juhana Rossi in Helsinki and Liis Kängsepp in Tallinn
contributed to this article.
Write to Anna Molin at anna.molin@wsj.com
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