“We have assessed the European Commission’s statement that the natural gas terminal being built in Klaipėda is almost unsuitable. But we have to look for other options – perhaps we have to cooperate with Latvia, perhaps with Poland,” Butkevičius told reporters after meeting with the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists on Wednesday.
Interconnectors between the gas grids of Lithuania and Poland were discussed earlier, hence the solutions for the LNG terminal could be looked for as well, he said.
“The project of a gas link with Poland was also discussed. You know, it is always necessary to look for a way out. Those solutions shall not increase the burden,” Butkevičius said.
Lithuania has a link with Latvia’s Inchukalns gas storage facility where it stores its gas stocks. Moreover, the conclusions of a feasibility study on building an interconnector between the Lithuanian and Polish gas grids should be published in the first quarter of 2013.
Lithuania, which is now dependent on expensive gas supplied by Russia’s Gazprom, seeks to diversify gas imports and is building a 600-million-litas (EUR 174m) LNG terminal, which is expected to be put in operation at the end of 2014.
The European Commission (EC) said in a study report issued last week that a regional LNG terminal in the Eastern Baltic Sea region should be built in the Gulf of Finland, either in Estonia or in Finland.
The regional terminal would supply gas to the Baltic countries and Finland, which are now fully dependent on the Eastern supplier. The terminal would be eligible for EU financial support.
