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AmethystOrator OP t1_j1zs2g4 wrote

TL;DR

> Finland’s first floating liquefied natural gas terminal was moored Wednesday at the southern port of Inkoo where it will supply gas to the Nordic country that was cut off from Russian gas imports earlier this year amid the war in Ukraine.

> The vessel will reconvert LNG to gas which will then be fed into the Finnish network for distribution. The arrival of the Exemplar will also enable gas deliveries to the Baltic states — Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania — and possibly also to Poland through the undersea Balticconnector pipeline between Finland and Estonia that runs near Inkoo.

> Gazprom’s move marked a likely end to Finland’s nearly 50 years of importing natural gas from Russia. The two parallel Russia-Finland natural gas pipelines were launched in 1974.

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Hardly_lolling t1_j22w7bg wrote

Important fact to note on this news: overall and specially consumer usage of gas is low in Finland. It is mainly used by industry.

To put in perspective in cubic feet per capita US usage is at 85, Germany at 35 and Finland 17.

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NevermindIcebergs t1_j24xxsl wrote

On the whole, you might be right with those numbers, but the people who do use gas at home are almost completely dependent on it for heating during the winter. There's been a waiting list of over a year for people trying to convert to other systems and I saw air pumps being installed in most houses in our area in summer.

So overall demand might be less now but this is big news for many households.

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[deleted] t1_j22bcbo wrote

[deleted]

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AmethystOrator OP t1_j22bndq wrote

> is scheduled to be operational from the beginning of 2023.

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HouseOfSteak t1_j22sc5v wrote

So 3 days?

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RSCiscoRouter t1_j230zsv wrote

Its not really... produced. Its a ship

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JackfruitComplex8856 t1_j23up9d wrote

He meant operation, I suppose, though the two terms are often used somewhat interchangeably by industries.

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karaps t1_j240omp wrote

Pretty much, the contract was signed half a year ago and they've spent the time since both constructing the shore connection and some modifications to the ship itself so it can handle better the northern climate.

It's also carrying its first gas cargo load with it so it should be able to start feeding gas into the network pretty fast.

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KhunPhaen t1_j20x238 wrote

The Americans were salivating at the chance to massively increase LNG delivery to Europe since before the war even started. It's now happening.

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Ill-Forever880 t1_j20zi5t wrote

Make money selling weapons to clobber the Russian Army while simultaneously taking over their gas export markets. This is an American dream come true - a twofer!

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CE0_of_SIMPING t1_j21h4h6 wrote

That’s just the energy side of this. EU Manufacturing is still in a bad spot. Heavy Manufacturing still needs oil (Russian crude is used for most EU manufacturing like cars, electronics, etc). It’s going to take a lot of refitting for the entire problem to be solved… (refitting EU manufacturing to a different type of crude)… b4 Germany sees its population and then economy start to decline.

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The_Grinning_Reaper t1_j21l33j wrote

Russian oil accounted for 30% of EU crude imports prior to the war.

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CE0_of_SIMPING t1_j21nk9q wrote

Is that supposed refute what I said?

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The_Grinning_Reaper t1_j21oq64 wrote

Well, it’s not most even though biggest.

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CE0_of_SIMPING t1_j21peas wrote

Seems like that 30% of total oil export (a very specific type of oil) is very crucial to the manufacturing industry in the EU… better?

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krneki12 t1_j23oetc wrote

It is either losing the US markets or having cheap gas.

The choice is a no-brainer.

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CE0_of_SIMPING t1_j244ipk wrote

There is no choice rn… EU manufacturing is pretty much dead until they retool their processes to weed out Russian crude.

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ScoobiusMaximus t1_j24nd7v wrote

Oil is a lot easier to solve for than gas. Oil tankers are a lot cheaper than LNG ships and there are more of them.

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CE0_of_SIMPING t1_j24t6rz wrote

But it’s not. If anything the energy side of the issue is the easy solve. It just takes time for LNG ports to get set up.

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BioRunner033 t1_j21rqu3 wrote

How are they making money? Are they not using government funds to pay for these weapons?

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falconzord t1_j21wjic wrote

For Ukrainian donations yes, but other countries are buying full price to bolster their own defenses.

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SighRu t1_j22svc4 wrote

Well.. American arms manufacturers are certainly profiting. In fact they stand more to gain from this conflict than anyone else by a long shot.

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ToughQuestions9465 t1_j22okxm wrote

Lots of that gov money went to modernizing their own weaponry while sending their old stockpiled weapons to Ukraine. It's a third win to US really.

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Mushroom_Tip t1_j215cc3 wrote

Just add it to the list of ways Putin being an inept leader and a moron made NATO and America even more relevant and powerful.

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RiceMan12 t1_j21l0bf wrote

The US was at LNG production capacity already prior to the war. They’re just changing who they sell it to. This isn’t a giant incremental cash grab.

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falconzord t1_j21wrm9 wrote

The price will be more favorable when you don't have to compete with a pipeline

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reven80 t1_j22ns7s wrote

Doesn't Norway have pipelines? They could certainly provide it cheaper since there is no shipping costs.

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LayneLowe t1_j22lu66 wrote

I believe there's a lot of gas around Africa. It makes logistical sense to supply Europe from there. I would hope that gives jobs and money to the populace, but I don't have high hopes that oligarchs will end up with it.

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darthn3ss t1_j23xaky wrote

Why haven’t we built a fleet of nuclear powered supertankers yet?

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Tricky_Escape_3827 t1_j21a0z2 wrote

There is under sea pipe line called Balticconnector so this will supply gas to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania also if needed. Lithuania is connected to Poland so gas supply can be transported there where it is needed.

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Mythemind t1_j21d7qp wrote

Lithuania already has LNG terminal, so combination of all these things will hopefully end all dependance from Russia.

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Own-Link633 t1_j22ozi8 wrote

Until Russia blows it up...

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Mythemind t1_j22pjl4 wrote

They're quite preoccupied - LNG infrastructure is already blowing up in Russia.

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allen_abduction t1_j22sj69 wrote

That would be a direct attack on NATO members. Remember the stray Ukrainian anti-air missile from a month or two ago that hit the Polish apartment building? NATO is just LOOKING for a reason to pull the trigger.

https://youtu.be/1-p1PRakjY0?t=132

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Lamuks t1_j23bc0m wrote

I don't know why you're getting downvoted. USA and other European countries have already said they will protect Finland like a NATO member.

NATO isn't trigger happy though.

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Baneken t1_j23et0j wrote

And if they do that... Thre's some VERY juicy targets in the Karelian peninsula to retaliate in kind, such as in Vyborg and Koivisto oil refineries and gas relay-stations and it's not like St.Pete itself is far from Finnish artillery POV.

Though realistically anything like that to happen would mean that diplomatically things would have already gone sideways and been gang-raped in a dark alley with a blunt object between EU/Finland & Russia.

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Witcher587 t1_j21ottj wrote

Huh, as I read the news I get the impression that we in Poland have become main hub for logistics. Military base on great level.

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JosephNiepce1826 t1_j23jpfa wrote

Please do a better job. When COVID hit -- you closed your borders meaning all transfer of goods stopped and the Baltics were essentially cut off from the mainland EU. We had to open shipping lines so that we could bypass the polish blockade and facilitate transportation of essential goods. I hope lessons were learned.

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JackfruitComplex8856 t1_j23v4l1 wrote

There was no "blockade", it was a restriction of people movement. It's called quarantine protocol, mate.

Also, do you want this guy to take your statement to the Polish government? Why hang this shit on a random dude just coz he's from there.

Like blaming every U.S citizen for the varied and ridiculous reasons that caused Trump to rise to power.

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JosephNiepce1826 t1_j2492qb wrote

I'm not talking about restriction of people movement or even the movement of stranded people desperately trying to get back home (which was also impossible through Poland) but the movement of essential goods. Food, fuel, spare parts. You know, during a quarantine people still need to eat and stuff.

And of course we talked to the Polish government. But it took them months to figure it out. Apparently us getting fed when a crisis or natural disaster hits is none of their business. Unless new laws are made at EU level making it their business. I hope.

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Tickbotomist t1_j21n61b wrote

Depending on Russia for vital resources is like dealing with the mob

I wonder how many years will pass before expediency takes hold and Europe goes back to Russian energy

Putin will eventually be replaced by someone like him or worse

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zyxmfbro t1_j2380db wrote

If Russia continues on this path, I doubt the relations will ever be normalized. If they change their path, it will still take minimum 10 years for countries like Finland and Estonia. Germany will sell their soul again the first chance they see though.

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ScoobiusMaximus t1_j24nzys wrote

Europe will probably buy some Russian gas and oil again very quickly, but they will maintain alternatives forever. Russia will never get all it's market share back and will never have Europe dependent on it again.

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49thDipper t1_j22yvwx wrote

Finland is the fucking BOSS

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Mattitja t1_j22wjz7 wrote

Natural gas usage in Finland has always been rather low. It was only around 5% of total enery usage. Many of the companies that used it have already moved to other energy sources if possible. Most of this is done as EU has requirements for minimum gas storage levels and for some heavy industry companies that cannot change away from it. Considering total energy consumption it is rather irrelevant.

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zyxmfbro t1_j23bjcd wrote

Note: This is not significant as an LNG tanker. It is a LNG Terminal. This means that LNG can be transported to this ship and it will vaporize the LNG for pipeline transfer. The gas will be transported via pipelines inside Finland but also to Estonia and probably other countries.

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TequillaShotz t1_j21nrql wrote

I hope they've got great security around it, including under water...

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autotldr t1_j1zxj39 wrote

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 81%. (I'm a bot)


> HELSINKI - Finland's first floating liquefied natural gas terminal was moored Wednesday at the southern port of Inkoo where it will supply gas to the Nordic country that was cut off from Russian gas imports earlier this year amid the war in Ukraine.

> "Finland will permanently phase out its dependency on Russian gas and will greatly improve society's security of supply," said Gasgrid Finland CEO Olli Sipilä.

> Russian energy giant Gazprom halted gas exports to neighboring Finland in May, citing Helsinki's refusal to pay in rubles, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded European countries do since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.


Extended Summary | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: gas^#1 Finland^#2 Energy^#3 Russia^#4 Exemplar^#5

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cwn01 t1_j22cf88 wrote

Make absolutely sure it is protected by sea, undersea, land, and air attacks. Russians could try to negate that solution. Kick putin!

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mtfreestyler t1_j22u2d4 wrote

How long would the ships 68,000 tonnes of LNG last for Finland?

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zyxmfbro t1_j238rpx wrote

Very rough estimation would be a bit less than a month if we were still in 2020. However, much of gas consumption has disappeared. Gas is not a significant part of Finnish energy sector. Most of the gas is used in industrial applications with industrial level bakeries being a big consumer. Most of these have moved on to different energy sources after the war. The consumption dropped 50% just in 1st half of 2022. So I would assume that we are at max 25% of the level we were in 2020 which would suggest that this gas lasts multiple months at least.

Edit: I forgot to add the actual point of this ship. This ship isn't really a tanker for LNG. It is a hub for LNG. This ship will remain in the harbor while other ships fill its containers with LNG depending on need. I have seen estimations that it would be filled every 2 weeks since this ship will deliver LNG to Estonia through the pipeline from Finland to Estonia.

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Mad_Not t1_j238rlw wrote

Great news.

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bcjc78 t1_j24am9h wrote

Sorry to say but the first thing I thought about was it’s a new target for Russian special forces. Hopefully it’s well secured.

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[deleted] t1_j204b3t wrote

[deleted]

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Jerrymoviefan3 t1_j20q7hs wrote

Finland has 0% of the world’s natural gas reserves so they have no output to increase.

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Anthrax_g23 t1_j20bcmf wrote

Likely 3 reasons would be because that makes them a bigger target which they are currently very aware of their border situation with Russia, it also would require resources to convert more LNg which they don’t currently possess to be produced rapidly and 3 the infrastructure to pump it further is probably limited in some way beyond the aforementioned countries

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External-Platform-18 t1_j20u1vn wrote

Why don’t solar farms increase output and then we won’t need gas? Why don’t farms increase output then nobody will starve?

Things don’t work like that.

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Alt-One-More t1_j20bfta wrote

"Why dont we take the gas and just move it where needed?"

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SpaceTabs t1_j20iyuy wrote

Looks like there are 10 of these ships from Excelerate. Also Finland is paying almost $500 million for a 10-year contract. That's for 5.5 million people. It's probably less expensive for many countries to do what Germany is doing and setup your own gasport like Argentina. There's other companies in the area developing similar facilities for liquid ammonia storage.

https://excelerateenergy.com/capabilities/fsru/

https://excelerateenergy.com/projects/bahia-blanca-gasport/

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MissDiem t1_j21p17m wrote

This isn't a port for Finland to export natural gas, it's a barge that's used to receive gas shipments from other countries.

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Own-Link633 t1_j22uepy wrote

Finland isn't NATO...

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ric2b t1_j23eu1g wrote

It's close to being, just waiting on Turkey to say yes.

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[deleted] t1_j1zvuss wrote

[removed]

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JPR_FI t1_j1zzphv wrote

Russia failed miserably with their extortion with energy and like Finland most of EU will cut the dependency leaving Russia without their wealthiest customer with pipelines. The floating terminal will serve needs of Finland just fine no need for you to worry.

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[deleted] t1_j1zv9sr wrote

[removed]

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Ehldas t1_j1zvmd9 wrote

>As Moscow has cut off electricity exports to Finland — also in May — and the Finnish state-controlled oil company Neste has replaced imports of Russian crude oil with other sources, Finland’s energy ties with Russia are now all but gone.

Looks like that train has already left the station, never to return.

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Bartsimp456 t1_j22cmex wrote

Did they not cut it off because of sanctions?

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Ehldas t1_j233pnr wrote

They unilaterally cut gas delivery, breaking their contracts.

Gas was not sanctioned.

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JPR_FI t1_j1zzyna wrote

Second allegory with bicycle and train, must be some new script from the troll factory. Don't worry, the floating terminal will serve Finlands needs just fine.

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Jerrymoviefan3 t1_j20rcol wrote

Fortunately natural gas was only 6% of their power source so it is pretty easy to replace with their new ten year LNG contract.

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imafraidofmuricans t1_j204dai wrote

I replaced a 7 min train commute with a 1h bike ride for a while. Entirely reasonable, sometimes.

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