Ristori: Lithuania’s LNG terminal is a success story
On Tuesday, September 20, Dominique Ristori, Director-General of the Directorate-General for Energy within the European Commission visited a Klaipėda-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal controlled by AB Klaipėdos Nafta. Mr Ristori praised an alternative gas supply model chosen by Lithuania, Klaipedos Nafta says in a press release.
During a two-day visit to Lithuania, Mr Ristori was interested in the targets of Lithuania’s energy policy, national and regional energy projects, visited a LNG terminal which since December 2014 has been playing a vital role in ensuring gas and energy supply independence as provided for in EU directives.
When visiting the Klaipeda LNG terminal Mr Ristori was presented with the terminal’s performance results. This year the volume of gas imported by Lithuania through the LNG terminal was bigger than pipeline gas supplies from Russia. Since 2014, when the Klaipeda LNG terminal became an alternative gas supply for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, gas prices in these countries have started to correlate with prices on the global market. It is a huge progress in a region which for many years had to rely on the gas monopolist.
“Having implemented the LNG project and operating the LNG terminal for nearly two years, we can boldly state that all political decisions and steps made by our company as the executor of the project towards energy independence were correct and that demand for natural gas is growing in the region, especially using LNG as an alternative fuel. The development of the LNG infrastructure is driven by the demand of clean energy in shipping, road transport and industry. So, our company seeks new possibilities and invests in projects that are beneficial for various sectors of the Baltic region,” CEO of AB Klaipėdos Nafta Mantas Bartuška said after a meeting.
„LNG terminal in Klaipeda undoubtedly implements the objectives of the Energy Union and EU LNG strategy and one of its key pillars – security of supply. Commission welcomed the development of this terminal and now we clearly see that it is delivering expected results – this year Lithuania for the first time in history will import more gas through LNG terminal than from Gazprom. Moreover, the Commission is witnessing the fact that the terminal also is delivering its supplies towards neighbouring Member States – Estonia and Latvia. This shows that LNG terminal is a success story and we have to explore all the options to ensure its successful functioning also on regional scale, “Mr Ristori said after visit into the LNG terminal.
The state owns 72.32 percent of the Company Klaipėdos Nafta.
Photograph: guests visiting LNG FSRU "Independence." From left to right: Lithuanian EU Ambassador Albinas Zananavičius, Minister of Energy Rokas Masiulis, Dominique Ristori, the European Commission's Director General for Energy, Master of FSRU "Independence" Vedran Smolić, AB Klaipedos Nafta General Manager Mantas Bartuška.
