Lithuania aiming to lead way to energy independence in Baltics

Lithuania is attempting to lead the way in achieving energy independence time in the Baltic region.

The liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the port city of Klaipeda welcomed an LNG storage vessel dubbed The Independence and received the first cargo of natural gas for testing processes of the ship and market supplies earlier this week.

The terminal gives Lithuania capability to import up to 4 billion cubic meters of gas per year, which is well above the 2.7 billion cubic meters that the Baltic country bought from Russia's Gazprom last year.

Lithuania's efforts to break free of Gazprom open new opportunities for the fellow Baltic states of Latvia and Estonia in terms of energy security.

"Latvia will closely cooperate with Lithuanians in order to guarantee the region's energy independence," Latvian Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma said at the vessel welcoming ceremony earlier this week.

According to Straujuma, Latvia is planning to increase the capacity of the gas pipeline between the Klaipeda terminal and Latvia.

Latvia's Incukalns underground gas storage facility will become a key element of the region's gas network and will help the region promote cooperation with global energy suppliers, the Latvian prime minister was quoted as saying by BNS news agency.

Energy officials and politicians stressed the regional importance of Klaipeda's LNG terminal.

"Klaipeda LNG terminal marks an important milestone by Lithuania to diversify its gas supply sources, ensure competitive gas prices and security of gas supply in the country and the Baltic states region," Guenther Oettinger, vice president of the European Comission, said in a statement earlier this week.

The LNG terminal is not just strategic in terms of energy, but is also a geopolitical project which might determine the Baltic region's future, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite noted.

"We will be ready to help our neighbors if needed," she stressed.

The Klaipeda LNG terminal can fulfill about 90 percent of the gas supply needs of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, Grybauskaite added.

Arrival of The Independence, the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) built for the Klaipeda's LNG terminal, was also hailed by John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State, who praised Lithuania's "leadership and strategic vision" for the implementation of energy diversification projects.

So far, Lithuania has been 100 percent dependent on Russian natural gas and has been paying the highest price among other EU counterparts for the resources, Lithuanian officials say.

Lithuania has already secured the minimal annual supplies required for the operations of LNG terminal by signing a five-year agreement with Norway's Statoil earlier this summer. Gazprom's contract with Lithuania expires at the end of 2015. Enditem