Gasum and Eesti Gaas Sign MoU for Estonian Gas Exchange

Finnish gas supplier Gasum Oy and Estonian major gas company Eesti Gaas have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on the setting up of a natural gas exchange in the Estonian gas market.

The signing comes soon after a similar understanding was reached between Gasum Oy and Lithuanian Lietuvos Dujos to establish a natural gas exchange in Lithuania. An MoU was signed between the two companies to set up the exchange in November 2011.

The exchanges were set up in the hopes of moving towards a single market gas exchange in the Baltic states, a joint statement from Gasum and Eesti Gaas said.

"The agreement between Gasum and Eesti Gaas confirms a long-term objective in which Finland and all the Baltic countries would function as a single common market with a regional natural gas exchange," the statement said. "In the future, the regional gas exchange would also be advantageous for the planned LNG-terminals in the Baltic Sea Area."

The companies say the setting up of the exchange will help to to develop Estonia's gas market and will modernise Estonia's existing gas trading system. Gasum will bring its expertise in the area of exchanges to help Eesti Gaas to develop the exchange.

"The cooperation will be based on experiences in nature secondary gas trading in Finland and the operations of Gasum’s subsidiary Kaasupörssi Oy," the statement from the companies said. "Kaasupörssi’s web-based trading system has been developed together with customers and the software company Process Vision for over ten years already."

The MoU was signed on the 21 December 2011.