Finland's Gasgrid on Sept. 12 said it aims to begin importing LNG via a planned floating terminal in January of 2023, with two commercial slot openings for the first month.

"The terminal operator will seek means to increase available slots as soon as possible when technical and operational functionality is working reliably," the state-owned gas transmission network operator said in a statement.

The Finnish and Estonian governments in April decided they would replace lost Russian gas imports by together renting an LNG terminal and later opted to charter the vessel from U.S-based Excelerate Energy for 10 years.

Gasgrid is still exploring two possible locations for the startup, Paldiski in Estonia and Inkoo in Finland, it said, adding the final location of the vessel will be Inkoo.

"The floating LNG terminal enables higher volumes to be transported from the southern part of the Finnish gas network," Gasgrid said.