The Cabinet also decided to authorize the Energy Ministry to draft a respective bill on the LNG terminal by 20 March. The 25-percent requirement will also apply to the volume of natural gas imported by pipelines.
“These provisions are necessary in order to start the creation of a real gas market so that a new player could enter the market, which is fully monopolized now. The terminal shall operate continuously so as to guarantee the security of gas supply to Lithuania’s consumers, competition on the market and independence from the sole supplier [Russia’s Gazprom],” the prime minister’s press service said in a press release.
The mandatory 25-percent requirement would be applied to the companies holding a gas supplier’s license, including Lietuvos Dujos (Lithuanian Gas), Dujotekana, Achema, Intergas, Kauno Termofikacijos Elektrinė (Kaunas Combined Heat and Power Plant), Lietuvos Energija (Lithuanian Energy). These companies should sign respective contracts with the LNG terminal’s operator.
It is planned that the LNG terminal, estimated to cost about 200 million euros, will have an annual capacity of 2 billion to 3 billion cubic meters. State-owned Klaipėdos Nafta has been authorized to implement the project.
