Conexus starts the new natural gas removal season with the best filling of Inčukalns Storage in last four years

The unified natural gas transmission and storage system operator JSC “Conexus Baltic Grid” (Conexus) has ended the natural gas suction season 2019/2020. At the end of suction season - on 13 November – users have placed 17.7 TWh natural gas in Inčukalns Underground Gas Storage. The capacities of natural gas reserved by sellers have increased by 38% when compared with the previous season.

The operative data show that storage users have reserved 18.54 TWh in 2019/2020 storage cycle. In general, the trends show that this is the first year with ascending trend since 2015 when the actual filling of storage has reduced.

“We begin the new natural gas removal season with a positive start because we see that interest about the possibilities to store the natural gas in Inčukalns Underground Gas Storage is renewed among the sellers. This is the possibility for the sellers to plan timely the natural gas supplies and be sure about the availability of resources also if high demand is maintained in the whole region for an extended period. Thanks to the possibilities of the storage, the sellers can fulfil their liabilities towards the client, but our task is to do all possible so that energy safety and stability is ensured during the gas supply season,” emphasizes Zane Kotāne, Chairperson of Board of Conexus.

She notes also that Conexus has started several Inčukalns Underground Gas Storage reconstruction and modernization projects that only increases the competitiveness and capacity of the storage both in local and international energy projects. For example, the storage technical infrastructure improvement project was commenced this spring with support from the European Union, withing the framework of which also the safety of equipment operation is improved. And the reconstructed gas collection point was commissioned this autumn.