Skangas supplies STEP Oy

Skangas will begin the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the energy company Suomen Teollisuuden Energiapalvelut – STEP Oy for a new bio steam boiler plant.

The steam boiler plant will produce an annual total of around 220,000 MWh of steam required by the nickel chemicals and metals manufacturer NorilskNickel Harjavalta Oy. The STEP plant uses wood pellets as fuel and LNG as back-up fuel. The plant will help replace the use of heavy fuel oil in the energy production of the Harjavalta Industrial Park in WesternFinland.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) will be delivered to the steam boiler plant at the Harjavalta Industrial Park by road tanker first from the Skangas LNG production plant in Porvoo and later from the Skangas LNG import terminal in Pori following the latter's completion in autumn 2016.

At the end-user's site LNG will be vaporized back into a gaseous state. The new steam boiler plant will enable a significant reduction in the use of heavy fuel oil at the Industrial Park.

"We want to invest in the introduction of LNG in energy production. Our long-term energy partnership enables us to implement a bioenergy project that will reduce our dependence on heavy fuel oil and reduce our energy costs in the long run. Optimizing customers' energy costs is one of our key objectives," says STEP Oy Managing Director Tomi Ihalainen.

"It's great to see STEP start using LNG. LNG has diverse uses in various industries, processes, energy production, as steam, in shipping and in transport, particularly in heavy-duty road transport. We have lots of satisfied customers that have gained benefits including environmental and efficiency ones from their switch to LNG," says Tommy Mattila, Director, Marketing and Sales, from Skangas.

LNG is an environmentally friendly fuel and provides industrial operators with access to natural gas outside the gas pipeline network. LNG can replace the use of oil-based fuels in industry, energy production as well as shipping and therefore help achieve considerable reductions in the particulate, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from these activities. The use of LNG also enables a switch to liquefied biogas (LBG) without any additional investments.