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Lithuania government to build LNG terminal

30 March 2010 12:44 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA-economics. Lithuania has decided in principle to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, which it thinks could be completed in two to three years, the energy minister said on Monday.

The government said the project was aimed at ensuring security of energy supplies and to have leverage to negotiate better prices from Russia’s Gazprom, the sole supplier of natural gas at the moment.

"We have a sole supplier and we are paying one of the highest prices in Europe...therefore the issue of LNG terminal cannot be delayed," Energy Minister Arvydas Sekmokas told reporters.

Sekmokas said the LNG terminal would most likely be built next to state-owned oil terminal Klaipedos Nafta and that the planning should start this year.

The minister also said the government would propose a private partner or partners to take a stake in the terminal.

Fertiliser producer Achema, one of Lithuania’s biggest companies, was interested in the project, he added. Natural gas is one of the products used in the manufacture of fertiliser.

The Baltic state has become more dependent on Russia’s gas after closing its Soviet-design nuclear power plant at the end of 2009 under the agreement with the European Union. (Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis