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Gasum Oy's subsidiary Skangas has reached an agreement with Lyse Group to acquire the Risavika LNG production plant, located in southern Norway.

The Risavika plant has an annual production capacity of 300,000 tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and the volume of its tank is 30,000 cubic metres. The acquisition also includes the LNG marine bunkering facility.

In a statement, Gasum said: "The acquisition of the Risavika production plant will strengthen Skangas's presence in the downstream of the LNG value chain and secure Skangas's commercial position in the Norwegian market and North Sea"

Johanna Lamminen, Gasum CEO, commented: "Under the tolling agreement signed in 2014, we have bought the full annual capacity of the Risavika LNG plant. The acquisition of the plant puts the final pieces in place in the overall acquisition of Skangas. This acquisition is part of our LNG business development and further strengthens our position as the leading LNG player in the Nordic market."

Skangas CEO, Tor Morten Osmundsen, said: "The acquisition will strengthen our position in the growing LNG market, increase our overall storage capacity and improve our current and future customers' access to LNG under long-term and competitive conditions."

Skangas is owned by Gasum Oy (with a 51 percent shareholding) and Norway's Lyse Group (with a 49 percent stake). Gasum acquired its majority stake from Lyse in May 2014. It also acquired the majority of the Norwegian Skangas's distribution operations, with the transaction including a purchase option of the Risavika LNG production plant.

The acquisition of the Risavika LNG production plant is subject to approval by competition authorities in Sweden and Norway.

"Lyse is very pleased that we have now taken the next step in the transaction that began in 2014. Skangas now has a complete value chain within LNG and, strengthened by this, will now enter an exciting market as a leading LNG player in the Nordic market," remarked Lyse Group CEO Eimund Nygaard.

Gasum is an integrated gas company that is owned by the Finnish Government (75%) and Gazprom (25%). The company imports natural gas to Finland and supplies it for energy production, industry, homes, and land and maritime transport. Its head office is based in Espoo, Finland.

Lyse operates in the field of electricity generation, distribution and telecommunication. It is owned by 16 municipalities in the Sør-Rogaland district of Norway, and has its head office in Stavanger, Norway.