Latvian Conexus' gas transport flows down in 2022

Latvian transmission system operator Conexus Baltic Grid transported a fifth less gas through its system last year than in 2021 because of much lower consumption.

Latvian gas consumption of 8.8TWh in 2022 was down by a third from the year before, Conexus said, while high gas prices weighed on electricity generation at the country's largest gas-fired plants. Latvian gas-fired output fell to 126MW last year from 209MW in 2021.

Transmitted gas supply fell to 31.4TWh from a multi-year high of 39.3TWh in 2021, mostly owing to an 83pc drop in gas received from Russia. Latvia imported just 3.4TWh from Russia last year, excluding transit, compared with 19.7TWh in 2021, Conexus said.

This was only partly offset by increased arrivals from Lithuania, which jumped by almost nine times to 18TWh, excluding transit. Lithuania's 2.9mn t/yr Klaipeda LNG terminal became the region's main supply point following a halt to Russian supplies to most of the Baltic countries and Finland by the middle of last year.

The entire 24.1TWh of storage capacity at Latvia's storage facility, Incukalns, was reserved for the 2022-23 storage year, the highest bookings since at least 2018. But lower demand led to decreased withdrawals, which totalled 10.6TWh in 2022, down from 17.9TWh in 2021.

Latvian-registered users had 6TWh of gas stored in Incukalns as of 31 October last year, surpassing the EU-mandated level of 35pc of annual consumption, Conexus said.

Conexus this year will continue modernising Incukalns, having last year signed a €21.6mn contract for the delivery and installation of a new gas compression unit.

By Brendan A'Hearn