DISINFO: LNG terminals in Lithuania and Poland are a waste of money
SUMMARY
The experience of Lithuania and Poland shows that the building of LNG terminals is just a waste of money. <...> Neither in Lithuania, nor in Poland do the LNG terminals work at full capacity. If it was a beneficial decision to abandon the Russian gas pipeline, the terminals would work at full capacity. At the moment, it is so beneficial, that almost no one wants to use these terminals.
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That they are buying Russian LNG shows that, even in this form, Russian gas is the most beneficial choice. But they also make a political purchase when they demonstratively buy gas from the US.
RESPONSE
Disinformation around Lithuania and Poland's LNG terminals and the topic of energy security.
The building of the LNG terminal in Klaipeda harbour in 2014 ended Lithuania's energy and economic dependence on pipelined Russian gas. It broke the Russian gas monopoly in the country and is designed to promote Lithuania's energy security.
The purpose of the terminal is not to “not buy Russian gas”, but to have the possibility to obtain gas from diverse sources and delivery means based on competitive market prices.
As stressed by the operators of the Klaipeda LNG terminal, despite the influence of the coronavirus pandemic, the terminal's results in 2020 "exceeded expectations":
During the entire 6 years of terminal’s operation, more than 80 TWh of natural gas has been regasified and supplied to the national gas grid. This year alone, more than 20 TWh of natural gas has been regasified to date, more than ever before. This year, approximately 70 per cent of natural gas in Lithuania is supplied through the LNG terminal.
During the year 2020, the largest cargos to the LNG terminal were imported to Lithuania from the US. Gas was also exported to the Lithuanian LNG from Norway and Russia.
The Polish LNG Terminal in Świnoujście also works successfully. Poland completed its construction in 2015. In the case of Poland, the LNG terminal enabled imports of LNG from the United States and Qatar. The functioning of this LNG terminal has resulted in a visible reduction of the share of Russian gas in the total Polish consumption - 67% in 2018 and 58% - throughout the first three quarters of 2019. At the beginning of summer 2020, it was announced that 100 per cent of the terminal's capacity was committed.
See more disinformation cases linked to the energy security of Lithuania and Poland: LNG terminal is too expensive for Lithuania; American gas for Poland and Ukraine is an expensive PR campaign; The concept of “energy security” has turned into an anti-Russia project.