Lithuanian president signs LNG terminal law

"This law is a real step towards energy independence. Through the implementation of the liquefied terminal project, 22 years after independence, Lithuania is starting the creation of a gas market that will ensure an alternative to expensive Russian gas and competitive gas prices for households," the president said in a press release on Friday.

This year, Klaipėdos Nafta (Klaipėda Oil), state-run company that is implementing the LNG terminal project, plans to launch a tender for the supply of gas to the facility, expecting to sign a gas supply contract in the second half of the year.

The terminal is planned to be launched in late 2014, with about a billion cubic meters of gas expected to be pumped via the facility in the first year of operation. It is planned that the LNG terminal in Klaipėda will have an annual capacity of 2 billion to 3 billion cubic meters.