EU Approves State Aid for Lithuania’s Klaipėda LNG Terminal
The European Commission said that the EC has approved under EU State aid rules the compensation granted by Lithuania to LITGAS for supplying a mandatory quantity of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the LNG terminal in Klaipėda.In November 2013, the Commission approved under EU State aid rules an aid scheme to support the construction and operation of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at the Klaipėda seaportin Lithuania The LNG terminal has…
EU Approves State Aid for Lithuanian LNG Terminal
The European Commission approved on Wednesday new government support terms to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at the Klaipeda seaport, after the Lithuanian authorities changed some of the conditions it got approval for already in 2013.The new terms include the imposition of a public service obligation on gas company Litgas to supply of a mandatory quantity of liquefied natural gas to the LNG terminal in Klaipeda in exchange for compensation from the government.The second change is the scrapping of an obligation for Lithuanian
Lithuania Inks U.S. LNG Supply Deal
Lithuania's state-owned gas trader Lietuvos Duju Tiekimas (LDT) said on Monday it had signed a deal to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) directly from the United States for the first time and expects to receive a delivery in the second half of August. The deal is with a unit of Cheniere Energy and is part Lithuania's efforts to diversify its gas suppliers and reduce its reliance on Russia's Gazprom. LDT, part of state-owned energy group Lietuvos Energija…
Statoil to Supply Small-scale LNG to Baltics
Norway's Statoil will supply small-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) to terminals in the Baltic Sea through Lithuania's Klaipeda LNG terminal, a company official said on Thursday. The move comes after the energy firm signed an agreement on Thursday with Litgas and Lietuvos Duju Tiekimas, gas trading subsidiaries of Lithuanian state-owned energy group Lietuvos Energija, to balance the gas supplies at the Klaipeda terminal. "If I'm sitting here in five years and this is a success story…
Norway will be Lithuania's 2016 Top Gas Supplier
Lithuania will import more gas from Norway than from former sole supplier Russia in 2016 after developing infrastructure to support liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, the country's energy minister said on Monday. Russia's Gazprom had enjoyed a supply monopoly until the end of 2014, when Lithuania opened a floating LNG import terminal to reduce energy dependence on its former Soviet master. That allowed it to import gas from Norwegian tankers, as well as via pipeline from Russia.
LNG Deliveries to Lithuania to Triple
LNG deliveries to Lithuania will triple to the end of September as a result of two new contracts signed by the country's Klaipeda terminal, its operator Klaipedos Nafta said on Friday. Lithuania opened the floating import terminal in Klaipeda at the end of 2014 to cut its dependence on Russian energy imports. Klaipedos Nafta said in a statement it has signed contracts with Lithuanian fertilizer producer Achema and gas supplier Lietuvos Duju Tiekimas (LDT). It already had a deal with Lithuanian Litgas.
Statoil to supply LNG to Lithuania's Achema
Lithuanian fertilizer producer Achema, the largest consumer of natural gas in the Baltics, has signed a deal with Norway's Statoil for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Lithuania's prime minister said on Monday. Privately-owned Achema, which consumed 1.3 billion cubic meters of gas in 2014, was looking at LNG as an alternative supply after its long-term contract with Russia's Gazprom ran out last year. "We are happy that such a good contract was signed…
Lithuania, Statoil Revise LNG Import Deal
Norwegian oil company Statoil and Lithuania have agreed to a revised deal to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the Baltic state, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius said on Monday. Statoil had agreed to lower its gas price by 15-20 percent, the head of Lithuania's state-owned energy group Lietuvos Energija Dalius Misiunas told Reuters, after a joint press conference with Butkevicius. The contract will be extended to 10 years from five…
Lithuania Puts Plans to Import LNG From US On Hold
Lithuania has put plans to buy liquefied natural gas from the United States on hold because the LNG is not yet suitable for the Baltic state's gas system, its state energy company said on Wednesday. Lithuania's system was built to use Russian gas and state energy group Lietuvos Energija said U.S. LNG was much more calorific than Russian gas. The country opened an LNG import terminal in the Baltic Sea at the end of 2014, which allowed…
Lithuania Seeking to Renegotiate LNG Supply Contract with Statoil
Lithuania is seeking to renegotiate a liquefied natural gas (LNG) contract with Norway's Statoil due to falling demand, head of energy group Lietuvos Energija said on Tuesday. "The government has asked us renegotiate the contract... One question is the total annual volumes, which could be smaller," Dalius Misiunas, chief executive of state-owned Lietuvos Energija, told Reuters, declining to elaborate. Misiunas said he wanted to negotiate results by the end of this year…
Lithuania Opens Door to LNG Re-exports
Lithuania's parliament on Tuesday approved amendments which will allow the Baltic state to re-sell liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the international markets, the energy ministry said. The current laws require the country's regulated energy and heat producers to buy at least 540 million cubic metres (mcm) from a floating LNG terminal in Klaipeda on the Lithuanian coast to ensure it remains operational. But gas demand has been falling due to increased use of biomass for heating and warmer weather…
Latvia and Lithuania to Work on Developing a Gas Market
Latvia and Lithuania have agreed to work on developing a gas market, committing to provide participants with access to infrastructure, a memorandum signed on Friday showed. Lithuania opened a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in 2014 and started exporting natural gas to neighbouring Estonia earlier this year, breaking the supply monopoly of Russia's Gazprom. "By signing the memorandum of understanding, both the countries commit to work together to encourage the entry of new gas suppliers in the market…
Latvia Says Plans to Split Gas Monopoly in 2017
Latvia's government finalised on Tuesday a plan to split its natural gas monopoly Latvijas Gaze to boost competition, in line with European Union rules, and said it would be completed in 2017. The plan sets the Baltic states on a collision course with its sole gas supplier, Russia's Gazprom, which has a 34 percent stake in Latvijas Gaze, a gas sales, transportation and storage business. Germany's E.ON is seeking to sell its 47.2 percent stake in Latvijas Gaze…
Statoil, Lithuania Developing Baltic LNG Business
Norway's Statoil and Lithuania's Lietuvos Energija plan to join forces to develop a small-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply operation, competing with Finnish gas utility Gasum. Litgas, an LNG arm of state-owned Lietuvos Energija, and Statoil signed a preliminary agreement on Thursday to establish a joint venture by the end of 2015, Litgas said in a statement. Statoil has a contract with Litgas to deliver 0.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Lithuania's LNG terminal at Klaipeda port in 2014.
Lithuania Considers Re-exporting LNG as Russian Gas Gets Cheaper
Lithuania is considering allowing its liquefied natural gas import terminal to re-export LNG to global markets during summer when local demand declines, the facility's operator said on Monday. The Independence terminal, which opened last year, was built to reduce Lithuania's total reliance on pipeline supplies from Russia's Gazprom, by giving it access to global LNG supplies. Since the terminal opened, Gazprom has cut the price of gas supplies to Lithuania by 20 percent to maintain market share…
Lithuanian Energy Group Calls for Rule Change on LNG Imports
Lithuania's state-owned energy group Lietuvos Energija said on Monday national rules had to be changed to allow it to sell some liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes it had contracted from Norway's Statoil in the global market as domestic demand falls. Lithuania opened an LNG import terminal last year seeking to reduce its dependence on former Soviet master Russia and to diversify supplies, including buying LNG from the United States in the future.
Lithuania May Not Extend Long-Term Deal with Gazprom
Lithuania may not extend its long-term natural gas import deal with Russia's Gazprom after the current one expires at the end of 2015, as it has gained access to global LNG markets, the state-owned energy group said on Monday. Russian pipeline gas imports to Lithuania fell to 2.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2014, down from 2.7 bcm a year ago, partly due to warm weather and increasing use of biomass in heat production. But the opening of a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at the end of 2014…
Lithuania Signs Non-binding Deal for U.S. LNG
Lithuanian liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer Litgas has signed a non-binding agreement to purchase LNG from the United States' first export terminal, the company said on Saturday. The Baltic states and Poland are looking to imports from the United States to reduce their dependence on supplies from Russia. Lithuania opened a floating import terminal last year and Poland plans to open another one later in 2015. U.S. LNG exporters…
Latvia's Gas Utility Sales Volumes Fall in 2014
Latvia's gas utility Latvijas Gaze sold 10.9 percent less natural gas imported from Russia in 2014 than a year before, the company said on Wednesday. Sales fell to 1.3 billion cubic metres (bcm) due to warmer weather and as more gas was switched for woodchips for heating, the company said when reporting its full-year results. Germany's E.ON wants to sell its 47.2 percent stake in the Latvian utility, which is 34 percent owned by Russia's Gazprom. The Russian firm is the sole supplier of gas to the Baltic country.
Lithuania Looks to U.S. for Gas
Lithuanian liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer Litgas has signed a preliminary agreement with a U.S. supplier, looking to lessen the Baltic nation's dependence on Russia. Litgas said on Friday it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Delfin LNG, a developer of the United States' first offshore gas liquefaction project. U.S. LNG exporters are looking to the small Baltic states and Poland as hopes for a boom in Asian demand for cheap North American natural gas.
