Image credit: Skangas

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Gasum has announced that it has increased its shareholding in LNG bunker supplier Skangas from 70 percent to 100 percent.

Lyse Group, which had a 30 percent stake in the firm, has divested its ownership in the business.

Commenting on the news, Gasum said: "The acquisition strengthens a key element of Gasum's strategy and will further enhance the development of the Nordic gas market and LNG distribution network. The increase in shareholding consolidates Gasum's position as the leading Nordic LNG provider and the gas market frontrunner."

Gasum's CEO, Johanna Lamminen, remarked: "Completing the acquisition of Skangas gives us even better opportunities to build and develop the Nordic gas ecosystem and to respond to growing demand."

"The need for cleaner fuel solutions in industry and transport is increasing significantly, and LNG is the most competitive option for low-emission fuels. We want to be the frontrunner in taking the Nordic countries to a cleaner tomorrow," Lamminen added.

As a bunker supplier to the shipping industry, Skangas says it performed 1,000 LNG bunker deliveries last year. The company operates the 5,800-cubic-metre-capacity Coralius - on a long-term charter from owners Anthony Veder and Sirius Shipping - to perform LNG fuel supplies in the North Sea, the Skagerak area and the Baltic Sea. Delivered in September 2017, it is the first LNG bunker vessel to be built in Europe.

Skangas's LNG business consists of the purchase of feed gas, LNG liquefaction, and the distribution of LNG to customer facilities where LNG is re-gasified to natural gas or delivered as fuel to end users.

The company has a liquefaction plant in Risavika, Norway, in addition to owning and operating LNG terminals in Ora (Norway), Lysekil (Sweden), and Pori (Finland).

Skangas is also a shareholder of the Manga LNG joint venture, which is due to open a new terminal in Tornio, Finland, this year. When launched, it will be the biggest LNG import terminal in the Nordics.

Skangas operates the Coral Energy, which is the world's first direct-driven, dual-fuel, ice-class 1A LNG carrier. It also charters the 164-metre-long Coral EnergICE from Anthony Veder for the transport of LNG to the Pori and Tornio terminals.

Gasum acquired a majority shareholding of 51 percent in Skangas in 2014, and last year increased its stake in the firm to 70 percent.

Gasum is owned by the Finnish state after Gazprom's 25 percent stake in the business was acquired in December 2015. Its head office is in Espoo, Finland.