Lithuanian Energy Minister Arvydas Sekmokas confirmed to BNS on Tuesday that Klaipėdos Nafta CEO Rokas Masiulis was in the United States for further talks with Cheniere. The companies signed a letter of intent last year.
"The aim of the visit is talks on gas supply via the planned LNG terminal. I have been informed that the talks are proceeding successfully," the minister said.
"They (Klaipėdos Nafta) have several potential suppliers, but Cheniere is certainly a very interesting partner," he said, when asked if the US company was among the most likely candidates to supply gas to the planned terminal.
Masiulis himself did not comment to BNS on the aims of his visit on Monday, only indicating that he was in the US "on business."
Sekmokas said that Lithuania expected to sign contracts on gas supply to the planned LNG terminal in the near future.
"Our goal is to sign gas supply contracts in the near future. That would be very important for the further implementation of the entire project, because supply contracts always go hand-in-hand with construction. Both export terminals and import terminals, as well as Cheniere, are already concluding export contracts," he said.
In May 2011, Klaipėdos Nafta and Cheniere signed a letter of intent regarding possible LNG supply in the future.
Masiulis said in late August that Klaipėdos Nafta was ready for final stages of negotiations with potential gas suppliers. He said then that there had been 12 to 14 potential suppliers in initial stages of negotiations and that the list would narrow down to around five in the final stage.
The company expects to complete negotiations on gas supply by the end of this year.
Sekmokas told BNS earlier this year that potential gas suppliers to Lithuania's planned LNG terminal included the United States, Norway, and Arab countries.
Klaipėdos Nafta has signed letters of intent on LNG supplies with Spain's Gas Natural Fenosa and US Cheniere. It has also held talks with Qatargas, the world's biggest LNG producer.
The LNG terminal in Klaipėda is expected to launch operations in late 2014.
