Conexus turnover in the first quarter remains at the same level as in the same period last year 

The turnover of the single natural gas transmission and storage system operator Conexus Baltic Grid AS (Conexus) in the first quarter of this year was EUR 15.7 million, which is at the level of the same period last year. 

In the first quarter of 2023, Conexus ensured uninterrupted natural gas supply to Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland. In line with the Energy Law's ban on the supply of natural gas from Russia, natural gas supply routes were diversified early on, with natural gas traders taking supplies from the Klaipeda LNG terminal.  Natural gas received from Lithuania in the first quarter amounted to 4.4 TWh, almost 2 times more than in the first three months of the previous year.

The first quarter saw strong interest from natural gas traders in the capacity of the Inčukalns Underground Gas Storage (UGS). During the reporting period, several capacity auctions were held at Inčukalns UGS, where a total of 8.7 TWh of capacity was allocated to system users. With the requested amount of storage capacity more than 3 times higher than the auctioned amount of storage capacity, the entire available storage capacity has been fully auctioned by 10 May this year.

"The results of the first quarter of this year show that together we have successfully addressed natural gas supply risks across the region by realigning natural gas supply routes and ensuring adequate infrastructure availability," explains Uldis Bariss, Conexus CEO. 

He adds that Latvian users' natural gas consumption reached 3.3 TWh in the first quarter of 2023, down 8% compared to the same period last year. This decrease was mainly due to the warm weather conditions, which reduced the need for heating natural gas, as well as the unprecedented high natural gas prices, which forced users to reduce their natural gas consumption. 

EBITDA for the period under review amounted to EUR 10.2 million, an increase of 2%, while overall Conexus posted a profit of EUR 5.2 million, down EUR 270 thousand year-on-year. 

In order to ensure uninterrupted gas transmission and maintenance of the natural gas infrastructure in compliance with safety requirements, Conexus continued to implement investment projects as well as routine maintenance and monitoring of the system during the reporting period, making investments amounting to EUR 6 million.