• 21 Sep 2016

Lithuanian natural gas trading companies Litgas and Lietuvos Dujų Tiekimas, both part of Lietuvos Energija, on Thursday signed an agreement with Norway’s Statoil to boost the development of the small-scale LNG market in the Baltic region, at Lithuania’s first LNG import terminal in Klaipeda.

Klaipeda can import up to 2.2 million tonnes of LNG,  through the Höegh LNG-owned floating storage and regasification unit Independence, after the operator Klaipedos Nafta took delivery of the vessel in October 2014 under a 10-year contract.

Lithuania, the largest of the three Baltic nations, started importing the chilled fuel in December 2014 in order to reduce its dependence on Russian pipeline gas supplies.

Litgas claims that, based on recent trends, there is a need for a wholesale supply point of LNG for the small scale LNG market to develop. The Klaipeda terminal is conveniently located for bunkering operations, as it can be reached from the central part of the Baltic Sea in just one day.

“We are very glad that we have strengthened our strategic partnership with Statoil. It is a major step for Lietuvos Energija, Klaipėda’s LNG terminal and for our country. We are entering into emerging Baltic small scale LNG market and the cooperation agreement not only allows to develop a successfulbusiness, but creates a potential for Klaipėda’s LNG terminal to become a regional small scale LNG supply center as well,” said Dalius Misiūnas, chairman and CEO of Lietuvos Energija.

According to the statement, the three companies believe that this segment will continue to grow in the coming years as LNG represents the best technology for marine users to comply with Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA) requirements and competitive supply solutions are becoming more and more available.