Lithuania’s state-controlled gas operator Ignitis became one of the first players in the Finnish gas market, which was liberalised in 2020 to comply with EU regulations and end the dependence on Russian supplies.

“We will not have the monopoly of Russians,” Chief Engineer at the Finnish Economy and Ministry Jorma Aurela told reporters in October 2019, adding that the country will be connected to the EU gas market via the new Baltic pipeline.

Ignitis has delivered the first natural gas shipment to Finnish consumers through the Balticconnector pipeline between Finland, Estonia, and Latvia, according to the company’s press release.

The 150-kilometre Balticconnector pipeline launched in January 2019 has connected the Finnish and the Baltics states’ gas transmission systems, allowing Finland to liberalise its gas market, according to Ingitis.

Previously, all gas was supplied to Finland via pipelines from Russia.

Meanwhile, negotiations on the possible Lithuania’s inclusion into the Balticconnector are currently ongoing, according to the Latvian public broadcaster LSM.

“The new connection will increase the security of gas supply, as the country will not be dependent on only one supplier,” Haroldas Nausėda, a board member at Ignitis, is quoted in the company’s press release.

“It is estimated that [...] gas supplied to Finnish consumers may be up to a fifth cheaper,” he said.

Finland liberalised its gas market to implement EU regulations, which call to separate gas and electricity transmission network from energy production and supply activities.