Following the Russia-Ukraine War that started on February 24, 2022, European countries have faced serious problems in the field of energy. In this context, the countries supplying natural gas from Russia have turned to the search for alternative suppliers. One of these countries is Finland, a Scandinavian country. In this context, the Helsinki administration has put the liquefied natural gas (LNG) option on its agenda.
As a matter of fact, Finland has been one of the countries with which Russia’s relations have deteriorated the most due to the war. Countries such as Finland and Sweden, located in Scandinavia, have applied for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), abandoning the neutrality policies they have been successfully implementing for many years. In this case, the extent of the security threat that Finland perceives from Russia has also been effective.
It can be argued that Helsinki is trying to secure itself on energy security because of this situation. Russia stopped the flow of natural gas to the country after Finland refused to pay in Russian currency-denominated rubles after the war. However, until the war, Finland supplied most of its imported natural gas from Russia. Therefore, Helsinki’s relations with Moscow developed through energy dependence.
On the other hand, Finland, which knows that its dependence on Russia constitutes its soft spot, has made a radical change in its energy policy. The Russian energy company Gazprom’s cutting off natural gas to Finland has meant the end of Helsinki’s 50-year-old policy of importing natural gas from Moscow. A natural gas pipeline was built between Russia and Finland in 1974.[1]
As expected, Finland’s neutrality policy played a decisive role in Helsinki’s energy dependence on Moscow. The energy policies of all countries in the world are shaped within the framework of the foreign policy they pursue. In this context, Finland’s neutrality policy was in line with Russia’s interests in Scandinavian geopolitics. However, due to the war in Ukraine, Finland both ended its neutrality policy by applying to NATO and turned to alternatives in the field of energy. In other words, Russia has lost an important energy market that has depended on it for years. Therefore, it is seen that Moscow’s loss in the Scandinavian axis is twofold.
In this context, Finland opened the first LNG terminal in the country on December 28, 2022. Accordingly, Finland’s first LNG terminal has been docked at Inkoo Port in the south of the country with the cooperation of US-based Excelerate Energy. The huge offshore support vessel Exemplar, owned by Excelerate Energy, which is 291 meters long and 43 meters wide, has a capacity of 68,000 tons of LNG and is planned to be operational by the beginning of 2023.[2]
As can be seen, the current war conjuncture in Europe has led to a change in Finland’s energy policy. In this context, the Helsinki administration has opened the first LNG terminal in the country. Therefore, this will play an extremely critical role in ensuring Finland’s energy security in the future.
In addition to all these, it is understood that Finland is turning to the US, which is one of the major countries of this market, to import LNG. In this respect, just as Russia’s loss as a result of the war has been two-way, so has the gain of the US. First of all, Washington has achieved a significant gain in the context of NATO’s expansion and, consequently, the containment of Moscow. Besides Finland, Sweden’s applications to the alliance are the most concrete examples of this. Secondly, due the war, Finland was forced to leave the Russian energy market and turned to the US market. In this context, on the occasion of the war, Washington has implemented the changes that it had hoped to experience in the geopolitics of Scandinavia for many years.
On the other hand, it is also worth mentioning what kind of route Helsinki’s initiative will take. The Exemplar vessel will convert LNG into gas and then distribution will take place through Finland. In this context, LNG will be sent to Baltic countries such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and then gas delivery to Poland will be provided through the Balticconnector Gas Pipeline.[3]
As it is understood, by this project, the integration of Scandinavia and the Baltics will be ensured. The energy factor will play a leading role in making this happen. Therefore, with this move, Finland will not only ensure its own energy security, but will also contribute to the unification of the two regions through energy.
The situation is very important in terms of showing how Russia’s intervention in Ukraine has led to changes in Scandinavia and the Baltics. Moreover, Finland, which was once one of Russia’s largest customers, will now become one of Moscow’s competitors in the energy market.
In conclusion, the war was a turning point in Finland’s foreign policy as well as in energy policy. Finland, which has been one of Moscow’s important markets for many years, can play a leading role in reducing Scandinavia’s and the Baltics’ dependence on gas to Russia in the future. In this context, it can be argued that Finland’s LNG move serves its own national interests as well as the interests of the countries in the region.
[1] “Finland Gets Floating LNG Terminal to Replace Russian Gas”, ABC News, https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/finland-gets-floating-lng-terminal-replace-russian-gas-95887293, (Date of Accession: 31.12.2022).
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
