"The establishment of the gas exchange is an important step toward higher competition and more transparent prices in gas trade. Baltpool, the exchange operator, is fully prepared. We have already presented the trading platform to future participants and have discussed the available trading methods with each of them individually," Baltpool CEO Lina Skrabutėnaitė said in a press release.
Baltpool, which also operates the Lithuanian Power Exchange, expects the first trade on the gas exchange to take place in the near future.
It is expected that 60 million cubic meters of gas will be sold via the exchange this year, 80 million cubic meters next year, and 100 million cubic meters in 2014.
Russia's Gazprom is currently the only gas supplier to Lithuania, but Baltpool says that the launch of the exchange will create a competitive natural gas market, and later, if a gas link with Poland or a LNG terminal in Klaipėda are built, it will also become a marketplace for trade in gas coming from other sources.
