Minister of Energy Masiulis meets US Secretary of Energy Dr. Moniz

The Lithuanian government, with assistance of the Embassy in Washington, DC, has been working extensively on securing LNG imports from the US. Several LNG projects have gotten the green light from US authorities during last year. A number of US companies, mainly located in Texas and Louisiana, are in the process of expanding and developing large LNG terminals.

After the meeting Minister Masiulis said: “Once these companies complete these terminals and can start exporting, we in Lithuania are ready to start importing their LNG.” The US exporters will be able to supply also to Latvia and Estonia via the Independence (LNG terminal) in Klaipėda. The Independence has capacity to supply 80 percent of the entire Baltic gas market. From 2019 onwards, the potential market will even be much larger as Poland and Ukraine will become part of a growing European integrated gas network.

The capacity of the Independence, combined with the present glut in the gas market, makes Lithuania very attractive to a number of American LNG exporters interested in expanding their markets.

On Monday, Minister Masiulis addressed the prestigious Center for European Studies at Harvard University speaking on the issue of Europe’s energy security. On Wednesday evening, he will speak at the University of Houston in Texas addressing the same issue. Houston is the global capital of the petro-chemical industry. He continues his hectic schedule meeting with several American regulatory and policy makers, as well as potential LNG exporters.