"Drilling and surveying work should begin at the end of September", Ernesta Dapkienė, the head of communications at the state-owned electricity production group Lietuvos Energija (Lithuanian Energy), told BNS.
Lietuvos Energija signed a contract with the consortium, which offered to do the work for 20.889 million litas (EUR 6.05m), on 2 August.
The contractor will have a year to set up drill sites and drill wells, and to work out a geological technical plan and to do surveying work.
Seismic surveys carried out in Syderiai in 2010 to 2011 showed that sandstone located some 1,500 meters beneath the surface can be used for natural gas storage. It was then decided that it was necessary to conduct more detailed surveys of the structure by drilling exploratory wells.
Based on preliminary estimates, Syderiai gas storage facility, seen as a key project in ensuring the country's energy independence, could store up to 1 billion cubic meters of gas. Decisions as to who will build the facility and who will finance it will be taken after all the surveys are completed.
