Tallinn LNG Terminal

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Tallinn LNG Terminal is a proposed LNG terminal in Estonia.

Location

The map below shows the location of the project, in Muuga harbor, Harju County. Tallinn is located about 10km to the west.

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Project details

• Owner: Vopak EOS; Vopak LNG; Port of Tallinn
• Parent: Vopak; Port of Tallinn
• Location: Muuga harbor, Harju County, Estonia
• Coordinates: 59.50601, 25.0045 (exact)
• Capacity: 4 bcm/y
  • Formerly 3.67 bcm/y (2.7 mtpa)
• Cost: €250 million (US$285 million)
• Status: Proposed
• Type: Import
• Start Year:

Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day

Background

In October 2015, a European Commission report endorsed construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminal at Muuga Harbor in Tallinn, Estonia. The terminal would be built by Vopak, an Estonian independent oil and gas company, together with the Port of Tallinn, a state-owned port-operation company. The project would have an initial capacity of 0.33 million tons per year (mtpa) (0.048 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), with a second stage raising capacity to 2.7 mtpa (0.39 bcfd). Vopak states that it plans to begin construction of the first stage in 2017, but it is unclear whether this is realistic.

A degree of competition exists between this proposal, Lithuania's Klaipeda LNG Terminal, and the Paldiski LNG Terminal for EU endorsement and funding. According to Food and Water Europe's profile on Estonian gas, "These two projects [the Tallinn Terminal and the Paldiski Terminal], have not been accepted in the third [Projects of Common Interest] list but both applied as candidates for the 4th list. The Commission seems to only support one project in the region leaving it up to the Baltic states to decide on which will be their priority project. It is clear that a new LNG terminal such as this would need financial support from the EU. This support would potentially have to be really significant, as conceived by the Paldiski LNG terminal project operator who warned that the infrastructure could only be built if the European Commission was covering 43% (around €150 million) of the €344 million needed. However, an application by the Paldiski LNG project promoter for EU funds under the [Connecting Europe Facility] was denied in 2017. Other developments make plans to add new LNG capacities seem even less reasonable: the Lithuanian LNG terminal which is already able to supply Estonia and Latvia with gas, was planned to be leased until 2024. The Lithuanian government approved the terminal's acquisition after 2024 in 2018, which makes it clear that these import capacities would be available beyond 2024 if necessary."

European gas industry group ENTSOG's Ten-Year Network Development Plan, published in 2020, continued to list the Tallinn LNG terminal project as an active project, as did the April 2022 edition of the LNG database published by Gas Infrastructure Europe. According to ENTSOG, the project was to cost €250 million and begin operating in 2022, and the investment situation was in an 'advanced' stage, though FID had not been reached. Gas Infrastructure Europe showed a proposed capacity of 4 bcm/y for the terminal but did not list a projected start date. Meanwhile, the Tallinn LNG website states that, "Currently, the field investigation program is taking place, including thorough studies of the project feasibility, first phase technical design, permitting and negotiations on the Final Investment Decision (FID) terms with the project partners and other involved parties," suggesting the possibility that the project is still under development.

However, there have been no news updates related to the project on the Tallinn LNG website since February 2017; the project was removed from the European Union's Projects of Common Interest (PCI) list after 2019; and as of June 2022 the only Estonian LNG terminal projects regularly mentioned in news reports are the onshore Paldiski LNG Terminal and the offshore Paldiski FSRU Terminal. As a result, the Tallinn LNG terminal project is presumed to be shelved.

As of November 2022, Tallinn LNG Terminal was listed on Gas Infrastructure Europe's database of LNG import terminals, and the project is considered proposed.

In March 2024, the Port of Tallinn was searching for development partners Muuga Harbour, including for the development of the LNG terminal on a plot of land earmarked for this purpose.