"More than ten companies acquired the geological basic information a month or more ago. We think that the process of preparing bids and analyzing the geological information is currently underway. We are waiting for 14 January, a deadline for submitting bids, to see how many bids we receive," Juozas Mockevičius told BNS.
The director declined to name the companies. "I wouldn't like to name them. Besides, some of them are scarcely known to us, because they hired law firms to do these things for them. The geographical range is wide, including Lithuania, the United States, Canada, and Europe," he said.
The Geological Service launched the tender for exploration and production of shale gas in Western Lithuania in late June.
The global energy giant Chevron Global Energy is planning to begin prospecting for shale gas in Lithuania in the near future. Minijos Nafta, a local company owned by Poland's Lotos and Denmark's Odin Energy, has already started shale gas exploration. Lotos Geonafta has also announced intentions to look for shale gas.
According to unconfirmed data, Lithuania could hold recoverable shale gas reserves of 100 billion to 120 billion cubic meters.
