Lithuania-Latvia interconnection capacity to increase from1 November

The joint natural gas transmission and storage system operator Conexus Baltic Grid AS (Conexus) and the Lithuanian natural gas transmission system operator Amber Grid have carried out the necessary work to increase the capacity of the Lithuania-Latvia interconnector to 90 GWh per day for natural gas supply from Lithuania to Latvia as of 1 November 2022. Accelerated implementation of the joint Lithuania-Latvia Interconnector Capacity Expansion Project (ELLI project) will result in a one-third capacity increase already in 2022.

According to Uldis Bariss, Chairman of the Conexus Management Board, the current geopolitical situation makes the development of the ELLI project even more important. Bariss continues: "A strong and integrated natural gas infrastructure is our region's answer to the current international natural gas supply challenges. The acceleration of the project demonstrates that our priority is the security of gas supply in the Baltic States and Finland, providing system users with more opportunities to supply and store natural gas at the Inčukalns underground gas storage facility."

The ELLI project aims to strengthen the security and reliability of gas supply in the region. Increasing gas transmission capacity between Lithuania and Latvia will provide the market with more flexible access to the Klaipeda LNG terminal, Latvia's Inčukalns underground gas storage facility and the GIPL interconnector with Poland. The gas infrastructure network created will allow more gas flows from Europe to the Baltic region and Finland.

The total cost of the project is €9.77 million, of which €5.50 million for Conexus and €4.27 million for Amber Grid, the Lithuanian natural gas transmission system operator, and 50% co-financing from the Connecting Europe Facility.