The volume of transmitted gas has increased by 16% in Q1 2020
The volume of natural gas transmitted during Q1 2020 has increased in total by 16%, when compared to the same period last year, while the volume of natural gas transmitted for the needs of Latvia has decreased by 27% due to the warm winter, according to the unaudited financial statements of the unified natural gas and transmission operator JSC "Conexus Baltic Grid" (Conexus) for Q1 2020.
Compared to the period of 2019, the volume of natural gas transmitted in the first three months of this year has increased by 16%, reaching 8.3 TWh. Despite the increase in the total transmitted volume, the volume of natural gas transmitted for Latvian consumption has decreased by 27%, compared to Q1 2019, and has reached 3.7 TWh. This was mainly influenced by the warm weather conditions this winter, when the air temperature was well above the normal, thus reducing the demand for natural gas transmission services.
In the storage segment, with the launch of the unified natural gas market 1 January, the interest in the services provided by Inčukalns Underground Gas Storage (Inčukalns UGS) has increased. The volume of natural gas removed from the storage during the reporting period has reached 7447 MWh, which represents an increase of 14% when compared to Q1 2019. More than half of it was removed for the needs of the member states of the unified market, namely, 37% were removed for the needs of Finland's users and 14% - for the needs of Estonia.
Net turnover of Conexus in Q1 2020 has reached 16 196 thousand euro, which is by 9% less than a year ago, while the profit has reached 5 097 thousand euro and EBITDA – 9 324 thousand euro.
Zane Kotāne, Chairperson of the Board of Conexus: ‘Conexus has a natural gas storage infrastructure and natural gas transmission under its management. The warm weather conditions that are untypical for a winter have reduced the volume of transmitted natural gas thus influencing the financial performance of Conexus in Q1 2020, with a predictable and logical reduction. However, it should be outlined that the energy sector has always been not only variable, but also subject to various external factors, so relying on a single formula that works would be short-sighted. That is why we started working purposefully to create a unified natural gas market, and I am pleased that we can see already the first the first results in the storage sector. During Q1 2020, we have achieved a significant increase in the volume of removed natural gas and we expect that the interest from other countries under the influence of the unified market will continue to increase, thereby strengthening the strategic role of Inčukalns storage. Major modernization works of Inčukalns Underground Storage and of certain transmission spans continue so that systems could also further be a part of the international natural gas infrastructure connecting natural gas users throughout the region."