Wärtsilä gets all-clear for Hamina LNG terminal

Wärtsilä has received the financial and government clearances required to enable it to proceed with the construction of an LNG receiving terminal in the Finnish port of Hamina. It will be the country’s third such facility, following installations in Pori and Tornio.

In addition to the issue of the necessary building permits, debt financing for the project has been concluded with Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken and Finnvera, the Finnish state-owned specialised financing company. The total investment is worth approximately US$120M. 

While fulfilling the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the terminal, Wärtsilä is also joining the project through a minority investment by Wärtsilä Development and Financial Services (WDFS) in Hamina LNG Oy. The main shareholders in the terminal-owning company are Hamina Energy Ltd and the Estonian energy company Alexela.

In the first stage of the Hamina project a 30,000 m³ LNG storage tank will be built. Facilities are also being prepared for a second 20,000 m³ storage tank to be added at a later date.

Preliminary earthwork has been completed on schedule and the first stages of construction work have commenced. The LNG terminal is planned to become fully operational in 2020. 

“The new Hamina LNG terminal will be an important addition to the Finland’s gas infrastructure, as it will not only supply businesses and the shipping sector but also feed into Hamina Energy’s distribution gas grid and can be connected to the country’s gas grid,” said Markku Tommiska, Hamina Energy Ltd’s CEO. “We appreciate Wärtsilä’s extensive capabilities in LNG engineering, which have enabled us to move the project along on schedule.”

“Wärtsilä has clearly taken a leading role in end-to-end LNG systems that facilitate environmental and economic sustainability,” commented Alexandre Eykerman, vice president of Wärtsilä Energy Solutions’ LNG Solutions.

“The Hamina project is the third LNG terminal in Finland that Wärtsilä has been contracted to build, the others being the Manga Tornio terminal and the Raahe terminal in Pori. This demonstrates the strengths the company has in project development and management.” 

Pori imported 50,000 tonnes of LNG in 2017. The Manga LNG terminal in Tornio received its first commissioning cargo in November 2017 and the start of commercial operations is imminent.