In order to somehow get rid of prematurely made super-generous promises to the Skulte terminal group, the coalition has postponed a decision on the most suitable location and form of support for a terminal to be built in Latvia. Now, shortly before the elections, some unnamed consultants will make recommendations to the government, and the decisive question will be which party will assign these consultants to the Ministry of Economy.
Neatkarīgā has already reported that the Conservatives (Konservatīvie) are stubbornly lobbying for the Skulte project, which would be unprofitable for the Latvian population in its planned format - it would involve a ten-year state-guaranteed procurement, large volumes that are not in line with real market demand, the investment of public money in the construction of the dock and pipeline, and have a negative impact on the Saulkrasti resort. Investors in the person of the American Peter A. Ragauss, on the other hand, promise virtually nothing except gas supplies. And here one wonders how such promises can be trusted, since it is not up to them to make gas extraction and transit possible. For example, US supplies to Europe are currently suspended for at least three weeks because of an explosion of as yet unknown origin at Freeport LNG, the largest liquefied gas export facility, Reuters reports. It would therefore be unreasonable for the state to make an overly generous commitment to a private business that is highly competitive in the current circumstances. This is all the more so since other Americans are proposing to build an LNG terminal in Riga on their own. As Neatkarīgā already reported, "Latvia has a chance to get a better LNG terminal in Riga". Much closer to the biggest consumer, to an already existing pipeline system and without burdensome obligations for the Latvian state. The only question is the necessary volume, which is for the state to say.
At the time, lawyer Pāvils Rebenoks warned that the Skulte project, lobbied by the Conservatives, was essentially the introduction of OIK2 - a new mechanism for milking public money. Shortly afterwards, he was beaten to death with a plank, possibly unrelated. But now Roberts Zīle, Vice-President of the European Parliament, has also warned of suspicious connections in this project:
"Let me be clear: the Conservatives are constantly pushing for the Skulte terminal to be built. I do not like the fact that at a time of crisis they are playing this game, which may also be in the interests of Ragauss. I will not hide the fact that there are political contacts with the so-called shareholders of the Skulte terminal through the ranks of the Conservatives. What is most surprising is that they are trying to stop in any way the negotiations with the Estonians and Finns on the development of the Paldiski terminal, which is technically the only one that will be launched this year. If the vote in the Saeima means that Kalvītis can no longer pump gas into Inčukalns this summer instead of from the new year, and we do not participate in Paldiski, then Latvia is left without options because the Klaipėda terminal is overbooked. If we are fighting with Estonians and Lithuanians and not cooperating with the Finns, it is absurd." This is what Roberts Zīle says in an interview in the June issue of Klubs magazine.
Whether Latvia has fallen out with its neighbors and whether it was the Conservatives who managed to prevent Latvia's participation in the Finnish and Estonian joint project is unknown, but the terminal developers themselves have just announced that they do not need government involvement at all. This is contained in a Cabinet report, which was discussed in a closed session, but for reasons unknown even to the Ministry of Economy, has been made public, contrary to the usual procedure. And it says:
"According to the Estonian Minister for Economic Affairs and Communications, Taavi Aas, on May 13 this year, the Estonian investment company Infortar and the Estonian energy company Alexela will develop the Paldiski terminal without state support and without state guarantees, thus it is considered a private investment project. As a consequence, involvement in the financing of the project by other countries is not being considered at this stage."
So Latvia will be in the same queue for gas at Paldiski as at Klaipėda and possibly at Finland. It should be clarified that according to the plan, Paldiski in Estonia would at least initially act as a backup terminal for the Finnish Inko terminal. Construction on both sides of the sea is taking place in parallel. Where the berth and regasification facilities are completed earlier, the gas tanker will berth in the autumn. In Paldiski, the dock is practically complete, but the developers are still struggling to build the three-kilometer connection to the pipeline system. Estonians also know how to conflict.
Meanwhile, what is happening in Latvia? Basically nothing. On the same day as the government was examining the information report on the situation in Paldiski, another report related to gas policy, "On the project applications received for the establishment of a liquefied natural gas terminal in Latvia", was being examined, although it is classified. The content of the report can only be deduced from the statement issued by the Ministry of Economy. Basically, the government has postponed a decision until autumn. Apparently because the Conservatives are very keen to give the terminal to the American Peter A. Ragauss, but the other partners are not so keen:
"In order to enable the Cabinet to take an objective, reasoned and justified decision, the Cabinet instructed the Ministry of Economics to ensure that the next phase of the LNG terminal assessment for both LNG projects - SIA Kundziņsalas dienvidu projekts and JSC Skulte LNG Terminal - includes an in-depth risk assessment by an independent consultant by August 31 this year, including the conformity of the project with Latvia's national interests from the economic, technical, legal, national security and safety perspectives." So the government is going to take a final decision in the last month before the elections or leave it to the new government. This means that the construction of a terminal in Latvia will not start this year, but there is no need to despair, because there will be Paldiski or Inko, there is the Klaipėda terminal, and we have something stored in Inčukalns ourselves. Latvia's heating needs will be met for the next winter. Energy expert Juris Ozoliņš told Neatkarīgā:
"The first fire has been put out, and now we will have time to deal with our own terminal."
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