Lithuania’s state-owned gas supply company to buy gas from Statoil

LDT had concluded a deal with Statoil to buy half of its gas needs this year (around 300 million cubic meters) from the Norwegian company, LDT said in a press release.

LDT head Mantas Mikalajūnas said that the company decided to approach Statoil after Gazprom’s pricing had become “unfavourable”.

Thus far, Lithuania’s gas trade company Litgas has been the only domestic company to buy gas from Statoil. Achema, Lithuania’s fertilizer manufacturer and the country’s biggest gas consumer, also plans to start buying gas from the Norwegian oil and gas giant in the near future.

Energy Minister Rokas Masiulis has commented that Norwegian gas has proven a real competitor to Gazprom’s supplies.

“Regasification capacity of the LNG terminal as well as other technical parameters enable flexible response to changes in the market and open up possibilities to purchase cheaper gas. The deal between LDT and Statoil clearly indicates that there’s a real competitor to Gazprom’s gas in the market now,” Rokas Masiulis told BNS.

“It’s a good piece of news for all consumers, and not just in Lithuania but also in Latvia and Estonia. Consumers in these countries can also have access to gas from the LNG terminal in Klaipėda,” the minister added.

Lithuania launched its liquefied natural gas (LNG) floating terminal in late 2014, breaking Gazprom’s monopoly in supplying gas to the country.

Lithuania’s gas trade company Litgas will this year purchase 350 million cubic meters of gas from Statoil under the revised contract with the Norwegian oil and gas giant. Moreover, approximately 500 million cubic meters of gas should be purchased from Statoil by Achema, Lithuania’s fertilizer manufacturer and the country’s biggest gas consumer.

Lithuania will in total deliver 1.15 billion cubic meters of gas via the LNG terminal this year. The country’s total gas consumption in 2016 is expected to reach up to 2 billion cubic meters.