KN, the Lithuanian energy company formerly known as Klaipedos Nafta, has expanded a loan being used to acquire a Hoegh LNG FSRU.
The company said it had tapped Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) for a 25-year facility worth €160m ($180m).
KN currently leases the 170,000-cbm FSRU Independence (built 2014) on a 10-year deal.
It called the unit "economically viable" and plans to buy it at the end of 2024, when the charter expires.
“NIB’s financing will secure a long-term independent natural gas supply to Lithuania and the Baltic markets,” said Henrik Normann, NIB president and chief executive.
TradeWinds reported last November that KN was plotting to acquire the FSRU in a bid to maintain its energy security.
At that time it was planning a loan of up to €135.5m over 26 years.
KN said it expects gas to remain an important energy resource for Lithuania’s transition to a low-carbon economy by 2050.
The decision to buy is "supported by analysts, forecasting stable natural gas consumption in the country in the upcoming decades as well as extended opportunities brought by ongoing regional gas infrastructure projects," it added.
Ideal for green agenda
"As the energy market undergoes transformation and search for solutions to reduce environmental impacts, we have an advanced gas supply infrastructure in Klaipėda that can meet current and future needs of gas consumers in the Baltic Sea region and Central Europe," said Darius Silenskis, KN CEO.
"We see Klaipėda LNG terminal as an innovative service centre that creates added value for the businesses in their transition to the green economy."
At the end of last year, NIB granted KN a loan of €134m to partly cover the operating lease payments and enable equalised tariff levels to be maintained throughout the full lifetime of the terminal, both before and after a chosen FSRU is acquired.
The new deal is KN's fourth with the Nordic lender, which is owned by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden.
KN said its Klaipeda LNG terminal continues to register record levels of "intensive and efficient operations".
February volumes were 12 times those logged in February 2019.
Almost 300,000 cbm was delivered by two large and three small gas carriers,
"The trend is positive for the future: analysts are confident that the global LNG market will double by 2040," added Arunas Molis, director of KN's Klaipeda LNG Service.
